Comparison of animations of different nuclei.
Nuclear physicists study not only the particles that make up the nucleus, but also what these nuclei might look like, what size they may inhabit, and how their constituents might be arranged when comprising the nuclear medium. These animations use recent data reimagined at a scale easily perceptible for students to reveal how different nuclei, and their protons and neutrons, may appear in nature.
Here below are 11 different animations of the nuclei of both common and rare elements. These elements have been studied by nuclear physicists, and each provides distinctive information about the subatomic world that gives rise to our visible universe. You're welcome to explore these nuclei and to compare and contrast their size, makeup and proton/neutron interactions.
Although calcium is the fifth most abundant element in the earth's crust, it is never found free in nature since it easily forms compounds by reacting with oxygen and water. Calcium-40 is the most naturally abundant of the calcium isotopes, accounting for nearly 97% of calcium. This isotope has a half-life of greater than 3.0×10+21 years.
Although calcium is the fifth most abundant element in the earth's crust, it is never found free in nature since it easily forms compounds by reacting with oxygen and water. Calcium-48 is one of the least naturally abundant of the calcium isotopes, accounting for only about .2% of calcium. This isotope has a half-life of greater than 5.8×1022 years.
Carbon, the sixth most abundant element in the universe, has been known since ancient times. Carbon is most commonly obtained from coal deposits, although it usually must be processed into a form suitable for commercial use. Three naturally occurring allotropes of carbon are known to exist: amorphous, graphite and diamond. There are nearly ten million known carbon compounds and an entire branch of chemistry, known as organic chemistry, is devoted to their study.
Hydrogen has three common isotopes. The simplest isotope, called protium, is just ordinary hydrogen. The second, a stable isotope called deuterium that contains one proton and one neutron, was discovered in 1932. Deuterium can be found in water and organic compounds.
Helium, the second most abundant element in the universe, was discovered on the sun before it was found on Earth. Helium makes up about 0.0005% of the Earth's atmosphere. Helium is commercially recovered from natural gas deposits, mostly from Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Helium gas is used to inflate blimps, scientific balloons and party balloons. It is used as an inert shield for arc welding, to pressurize the fuel tanks of liquid fueled rockets and in supersonic windtunnels. Helium is combined with oxygen to create a nitrogen free atmosphere for deep sea divers so that they will not suffer from a condition known as nitrogen narcosis. Liquid helium is an important cryogenic material and is used to study superconductivity and to create superconductive magnets. The Department of Energy's Jefferson Lab uses large amounts of liquid helium to operate its superconductive electron accelerator.
Lithium was discovered in the mineral petalite (LiAl(Si2O5)2) by Johann August Arfvedson in 1817. It was first isolated by William Thomas Brande and Sir Humphrey Davy through the electrolysis of lithium oxide (Li2O). Today, larger amounts of the metal are obtained through the electrolysis of lithium chloride (LiCl). Lithium is not found free in nature and makes up only 0.0007% of the earth's crust. Lithium-6 is one of only two stable isotopes of the element, and represents about 7.5% of lithium found in nature.
Lithium makes up only 0.0007% of the earth's crust. Lithium-7 is one of only two stable isotopes of the element, and represents about 92.5% of lithium found in nature. It contains four protons and five neutrons in its nucleus.
Lithium-11 is an unstable isotope of lithium, with just four protons and seven neutrons in its nucleus. The half-life of lithium-11 in only about 8.75 milliseconds.
Oxygen is the third most abundant element in the universe and makes up nearly 21% of the earth's atmosphere. Oxygen accounts for nearly half of the mass of the earth's crust, two thirds of the mass of the human body and nine tenths of the mass of water. Large amounts of oxygen can be extracted from liquefied air through a process known as fractional distillation. Oxygen can also be produced through the electrolysis of water or by heating potassium chlorate (KClO3). Oxygen is a highly reactive element and is capable of combining with most other elements. It is required by most living organisms and for most forms of combustion.
Tritium is the their isotope of hydrogen. Discovered in 1934, tritium contains one proton and two neutrons. In nuclear physics, this simplest nucleus to contain two neutrons can be compared to helium-3, the simplest nucleus with two protons. Comparing and contrasting these mirror nuclei has allowed nuclear physicists to learn a lot about protons and neutrons and their interactions inside nuclei.
Zirconium is a corrosion resistant metal that is used in high performance pumps and valves. Since it also does not easily absorb neutrons, zirconium is widely used in nuclear reactors. The nuclear power industry uses nearly 90% of the zirconium produced each year, which must be nearly free of hafnium. Zirconium is also used as an alloying agent in steel, to make some types of surgical equipment and as a getter, a material that combines with and removes trace gases from vacuum tubes. This animation is being updated to reflect the full element name and to prevent confusion with the gemstone also known as zircon, which is zirconium-silicate, ZrSiO4.
