Introduction of Deuteron Mass
An atom which consists of particles too small are known as subatomic particles. One of the subatomic particles is known as deuteron.
In Vedantu, this comprehensive section of the Physics chapter explains about deuteron and its mass. The website provides easy downloadable pdfs to the students for them to understand the definition of deuteron mass, how to determine its value and note the important difference between deuteron and deuterium.
What is a Deuteron?
The deuteron is a subatomic particle that contains a neutron and a proton. The atom is called deuterium, and the nucleus which exists in it is called a deuteron. It is one of the two stable isotopes of hydrogen. It is a stable particle due to the presence of the same number of neutrons and protons. Because of which, deuterium is positively charged. The free neutron of the deuterium atom is unstable and hence it usually undergoes beta decay with a half-life period of around 10.3 minutes.
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Binding energy is defined as the amount of energy needed to split a particle from a system of particles or to disperse the entire particles of the system. The binding energy of deuteron is approximately equal to 2.2 MeV. During the process of beta decay, change in energy occurs inside the atom. If the free neutron of the deuterium undergoes beta decay to form a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino, the total mass-energy of the constituent particles will be:
2(938.27 MeV) + 0.511 MeV = 1877.05 MeV
However, the energy of a deuteron particle is 1875.6 MeV, which means that it is stable against beta decay in terms of energy. During beta decay, the free neutron produces energy of 0.78 MeV, but the deuteron that has the binding energy of 2.2 MeV prevents the decay of the neutrons.
Deuterium Explained
Deuterium or hydrogen-2, symbol D, is also known as heavy hydrogen. There are two stable isotopes of hydrogen; one is protium or hydrogen-1 and the other is deuterium or hydrogen-2. The nucleus of deuterium is called a deuteron which contains a proton and a neutron, whereas the protium doesn't contain any neutron in its nucleus. Deuterium is abundantly available in the oceans, one deuterium atom is found per 6420 atoms of hydrogen.
Did You know?
The stability of the deuterium atom has played a major role during the formation of the universe in the initial stage. In the Big Bang model it is assumed that the number of protons and neutrons are equal. In the early stages the available energies were much higher as compared to 0.78 MeV required to convert an electron and a proton into a neutron. When the temperature dropped, the neutrons were no longer generated from the protons. The decay of neutrons gradually decreased the number of neutrons. The neutrons which combined with the protons and formed the deuteron didn't undergo any further decay. If all the neutrons had decayed, the universe wouldn't be as we know it.
Deuteron Mass and Charge
Deuterium is a stable atomic particle containing a proton and neutron. It is denoted by D or 2H and is called Hydrogen-2. Mass of deuteron is expressed in terms of an atomic mass unit (amu) or electron volts (eV). The Charge of deuteron is +1e. This is due to the presence of protons.
1 Amu in Mev
The atomic mass unit (amu) is defined as the 1/12 mass of a carbon-12 atom. The carbon-12 or C-12 atom consists of 6 neutrons and 6 protons in its nucleus. Precisely, one amu is the average mass proton and neutron at rest.
If we want to convert the binding energy in terms of MeV (mega electron volt) per nucleon, will have to apply the conversion factor which is given by
1 MeV = 1.602 x 10-13 J
One amu is equivalent to energy of 931.5 MeV.
Amu Value
One AMU is the average of the rest mass of a neutron and the rest mass of a proton. This mass is approximately equal to 1.67377 x 10-27 kilogram (kg), or 1.67377 x 10-24 gram (g). The mass of an atomic particle in terms of amu is approximately equal to the number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus.
MeV Meaning
MeV is the abbreviation for mega- electron volt, and mev is the abbreviation for million electron volts.
A MeV or Mega electron-volt is 1 million times of an eV. One eV (electron-volt) is defined as the energy gained by an electron (or any other charged particle having a charge equal to that of an electron) when it passes through a potential difference of 1 volt. In SI unit 1eV is equal to 1.6*10-19 Joules.
Mass of a Deuteron
The exact formula applied to determine the mass of a deuteron is through atomic mass unit or mass electron volt is as follows:
To determine the mass of a deuteron, it is calculated by using the atomic mass unit (amu) or Mass electron volts (MeV). The one by twelfth part of the mass of a carbon 12 atom is defined as an atomic mass unit. Basically, there are equal amounts of neutrons and protons, six and six each, in the nucleus of the carbon 12 atom.
One atomic mass unit (amu) is the average of the proton and neutron rest mass. To calculate the atomic mass unit of any deuteron mass, the formula shown below is applicable to it. The equations differ with the amount of mass density in the atomic structure of the atom. Thus, the atomic mass value is defined in the following way.
FAQs on Deuteron Mass
1. What is the Difference Between Deuterium and a Deuteron?
Deuterium is an atom; it is an isotope of hydrogen while deuteron is the nucleus of deuterium.
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This nucleus contains a neutron and an electron. The deuterium isotope is represented by 2H or D, whereas the deuteron is represented by 2H+ which is similar to the representation of a proton (H+).
2. Whose Mass is Greater, Proton or Deuteron.
The mass of a deuterium atom is greater than that of a proton; this is because of the presence of a neutron in the deuterium. Also, the mass of a neutron is a little bit more to that of a proton. This is why the mass of deuterium is almost twice of size to that of a proton.
3. Is it Possible to Separate a Charge From a Mass?
Electric charge is one of the intrinsic properties of matter. It is one of the fundamental quantities which come into existence due to the presence of an excess number of electrons or deficiency of electrons, or that of protons. A charge is a property of matter, but is not a physical entity. The electric charge originates due to the presence of some mass, and without any mass charge cannot exist as there will be no source to produce it.
Electric charge is an intrinsic characteristic of the fundamental particles like protons and electrons which make up the basis of matter, and hence the charge will automatically come out from this particle wherever they exist. So it is not practically possible to separate electric charge from mass as they are coexisting in nature.
Till date, there hasn't been any experimental attempt to separate a charge from a mass. This may be because the equipment being developed these days are not able to measure or distinguish between such properties.
Since deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen, one of its compounds, the deuterium oxide or H2O2 is cheaply available and is heavily used by chemists as an organic anion.
4. How do I understand the values and units of the deuteron for my studies?
To get a clear understanding of the basics of deuteron mass, it is important to form a strong foundation in the subject of physics regarding atoms and molecules. These factors determine a steady learning capacity for the students as they gradually improve themselves by evaluating their knowledge through practice exercises provided by Vedantu. Formulas and applications are done when the students understand the concepts behind them and retain them for a longer period of time. This helps the students to further improve their studies.
5. Why should I learn about deuteron mass in school?
Learning about deuteron mass is essential as it is one of the most important topics which are covered in the chapter of mass and atoms. The topic of deuteron mass plays an important role in the understanding of atoms and nucleus. It also shows how to determine the atomic weight and mass volume of each atom as these topics are taught before the topic of deuteron mass. It also carries a lot of weightage in the examination paper as deuteron mass is the most asked question in the examination hall.
6. How do I present the differences between deuterons and deuterium?
Firstly, to differentiate between the deuteron and deuterium, it is important to thoroughly understand the value, basics and definitions of these terms. The deuteron is the nucleus of deuterium whereas the deuterium is basically the isotope of the hydrogen bond. Their representations also differ as the deuteron is represented by 2H+ while, on the other hand, the deuterium is represented by just 2H or D. These differences can be tabulated and presented in a bullet point format for easy understanding and retention.
7. Do I have to refer to other reference materials while studying about the topic of deuteron mass?
Vedantu has a list of reliable reference materials which help the students to skim through the relevant topics and note them accordingly. The links to these references can be easily downloaded from the website for free. It also has a number of question papers, answer keys, revision notes and objective type answer keys, along with reliable reference materials. The frequently asked questions section also helps clear the recurring doubts that the students usually have while they are studying for any topic.
8. How do I take notes in the Physics class to increase my capacity in learning about deuteron mass?
To make the students well versed in the topic, it is advisable for them to read the chapter about the deuteron mass in general and skim through it. This would help them get a basic idea about what the topic is actually about. After skimming through the chapter, the students can observe the diagrams and illustrations which explain about deuteron mass in an interactive way. This increases their interest. Then, they can read the main points, objectives, headings and subheadings. At this point, when they attend any class about deuteron mass, they will effectively understand the topic and formulate questions along the way. This helps them save time and effort during the examination time.
