The nucleus dysprosium-160 (containing 160 nucleons) acts like a spinning object with quantized angular momentum,
, and for this nucleus it turns out that l must be an even integer (0, 2, 4 …). When a Dy-160 nucleus
drops from the l = 2 state to the l = 0 state, it emits an 87 keV photon (87 × 103 eV).
(a) What is the moment of inertia of the Dy-160 nucleus?
(b) Given your result from part (a), find the approximate radius of the Dy-160 nucleus, assuming it is spherical. (In
fact, these and similar experimental observations have shown that some nuclei are not quite spherical.)
(c) The radius of a (spherical) nucleus is given approximately by (1.3 × 10−15 m)A1/3, where A is the total number of
protons and neutrons. Compare this prediction with your result in part (b).