Question

Most interacting nuclei are isotopes of hydrogen (Z=1) for 2 reasons: 

According to the plot B/A they will release the maximum energy 

That minimises the Coulomb repulsive force 

We can see that reactions leading to production of a particle (particularly stable) produce a large amount of energy. 

Note: one reaction is missing -p+p. While it is omitted here, it is the primary astrophysical reaction. We will come back to this one later.

Calculate the barrier height of all reactions in slide number 3 ?

Answer 1

We know that, the barrier height (VB) can be calculated using the eqaution,

VB = (Z1 * Z2 * e / R), where Z1 and Z2 are the atomic numbers of the isotope and e is the charge of the proton, which is 1.6 *19-19 C. R is the nulcear radius = R0(A11/3 + A21/3), where R0 = 1.3 *10-15m

I will find the barrier height for each of the reactions and is uploaded below.