1935/06/15 by W. V. Houston · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Physics and Astronomy · #Nuclear physics research studies #Radioactive Decay and Measurement Techniques #Twentieth Century Scientific Developments
paper · doi:10.1103/physrev.47.942
openalex publication_date 1935/06/15 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
The problem of a number of bodies which attract each other with forces proportional to the distance can be solved completely in terms of normal vibrations, and the expressions for the frequencies can be written down. From these the quantum mechanical energy levels can be written down directly. This makes a good model for the representation of a nucleus insofar as it can be considered as composed of alpha-particles, protons and neutrons, and can be treated by ordinary quantum mechanics. The assumption of constants of a reasonable order of magnitude makes possible the computation of binding energies which show the observed general trends. The instability of Be8 composed of two alpha-particles is attributed to the high "zero point" energy of the system, although the system of three alpha-particles, C12, is stable. The Pauli exclusion principle applied to the neutrons gives a reason for the limited number of observed isotopes.