Explain Neutron number
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Answer:
The neutron number is the total number of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom is given the symbol N. Neutron number plus atomic number equals atomic mass number: N+Z=A.
The atom consists of a small but massive nucleus surrounded by a cloud of rapidly moving electrons. The nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons. The total number of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom is called the neutron number of the atom and is given the symbol N.
Neutron number is rarely written explicitly in nuclide symbol notation, but appears as a subscript to the right of the element symbol. Nuclides that have the same neutron number but a different proton number are called isotones.
The chemical properties of the atom are determined by the number of protons, in fact, by the number and arrangement of electrons. The configuration of these electrons follows the principles of quantum mechanics. The number of electrons in each element’s electron shells, particularly the outermost valence shell, is the primary factor in determining its chemical bonding behavior. In the periodic table, the elements are listed in order of increasing atomic number Z.
The nuclear properties (atomic mass, nuclear cross-sections) of the element are determined by the number of protons and the number of neutrons (neutron number). For example, actinides with odd neutron numbers are usually fissile (fissionable with slow neutrons) while actinides with even neutron numbers are usually not fissile (but are fissionable with fast neutrons). Heavy nuclei with an even number of protons and an even number of neutrons are (due to the Pauli exclusion principle) very stable thanks to the occurrence of ‘paired spin’. On the other hand, nuclei with an odd number of protons and neutrons are mostly unstable.
Hydrogen (H), for example, consists of one electron and one proton. The number of neutrons in a nucleus is known as the neutron number and is given the symbol N. The total number of nucleons, that is, protons and neutrons in a nucleus are equal to Z + N = A, where A is called the mass number. The various species of atoms whose nuclei contain particular numbers of protons and neutrons are called nuclides. Each nuclide is denoted by the chemical symbol of the element (this specifies Z) with the atomic mass number as superscript.
Thus the symbol 1H refers to the nuclide of hydrogen with a single proton as nthe ucleus. 2H is the hydrogen nuclide with a neutron as well as a proton in the nucleus (2H is also called deuterium or heavy hydrogen). Atoms such as 1H, 2H whose nuclei contain the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons (different A) are known as isotopes. Hydrogen has identical chemical properties to deuterium but has completely different nuclear properties.