Joliot-Curie artificial transmutation

Content: atomic number, nuclear

Level: introductory

Reference: Frédéric Joliot-Curie, "Chemical evidence of the transmutation of elements," Nobel Lecture, Dec. 12, 1935, Nobelstiftelsen Chemistry, volume 2, pp. 369-73.

Notes: One could say that Irène Curie (1897-1956) went into the family business, the study of radioactivity. Her husband Frédéric Joliot (1900-1958) was her partner in that business, at which they were quite successful. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1935 for nuclear reactions that produced artificial radioisotopes.

The Joliot-Curies described their work in their Nobel Lecture. Frédéric included the two nuclear reaction equations that are the subject of this exercise. He describes the fact that 30Si was the inferred product of the first reaction channel, but that it is a stable isotope produced in such small amounts that it could not be detected. The phosphorus isotope, however, was radioactive, so it could be detected and definitely identified.

Solutions: To download solutions, go to:
http://web.lemoyne.edu/giunta/classicalcs/jolcur.doc


Copyright 2003 by Carmen Giunta. Permission is granted to reproduce for non-commercial educational purposes.

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