A nucleus emits an particle of energy 4.196 MeV. We have to calculate the disintegration energy for this process, taking the recoil energy of the residual nucleus into account. The atomic mass of an particle is 4.0026 u and that of the is 234.04 u.

Solution:             Click For PDF Version

A nucleus emits an particle of energy 4.196 MeV. Therefore, the momentum of the particle will be

By conservation of momentum we note that the magnitude of the recoil momentum of the residual nucleus will also be . The mass of nuclide is 234.04 u. Therefore, the kinetic energy of nuclide will be

The disintegration energy for emission of a nucleus will therefore be