Author Question: In the nuclear reaction of 12C( , n)15O, the probability of observing a neutron is much higher than ... (Read 170 times)

anjilletteb · **on:** Jul 28, 2018

In the nuclear reaction of ¹²C(

, n)¹⁵O, the probability of observing a neutron is much higher than observing the byproducts of a similar reaction such as ¹²C(

, p)¹⁵N. Which of the following provides a possible explanation of this occurrence?
a. There is always a higher probability for the compound nucleus to decay into products of lower mass.
b. There is always a higher probability for the compound nucleus to decay into stable products.
c. The compound nucleus ¹⁶O favors a decay to the n channel as opposed to the p channel for various reasons.
d. The compound nucleus of ¹⁶O must make a forbidden transition to break into a proton and ¹⁵N.
e. The entrance channel must enter into a compound nucleus to produce the ¹²C(

, n)¹⁵O reaction as opposed to the direct reaction to produce the ¹²C(

, p)¹⁵N reaction.

Question 2

Suppose in a dying star, a reaction takes place under extreme pressure and temperature. This reaction is hypothetically as follows:

Bison · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 28, 2018

Answer to Question 1

c.
The existence of a resonance energy that the compound nucleus of ¹⁶O is excited to increases the probability of an exit channel that the quantum numbers of the nucleus select. In this case, the ¹²C(

, n)¹⁵O reaction was selected and therefore it is more likely to observe the neutron.

Answer to Question 2

a.
The reaction is endoergic because of the mass energies associated with the products and reactants. The reaction takes in energy on the entrance channel of the equation to produce the exit channel. This reaction shows that after iron, the binding energy per nucleon decreases, meaning that any reaction fusing an element more massive than iron will perform an endoergic reaction.