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The term nucleus is from the Latin word nucleus, a diminutive of nux ('nut'), meaning 'the kernel' (i.e., the 'small nut') inside a watery type of fruit (like a peach). In 1844, Michael Faraday used the term to refer to the "central point of an atom". The modern atomic meaning was proposed by Ernest Rutherford in 1912. [11]
The cell nucleus (from Latin nucleus or nuculeus ' kernel, seed '; pl.: nuclei) is a membrane-bound organelle found in eukaryotic cells. Eukaryotic cells usually have a single nucleus, but a few cell types, such as mammalian red blood cells , have no nuclei , and a few others including osteoclasts have many .
The nuclear envelope, also known as the nuclear membrane, [1] [a] is made up of two lipid bilayer membranes that in eukaryotic cells surround the nucleus, which encloses the genetic material. The nuclear envelope consists of two lipid bilayer membranes: an inner nuclear membrane and an outer nuclear membrane. [ 4 ]
A nucleus with full shells is exceptionally stable, as will be explained. As with electrons in the electron shell model, protons in the outermost shell are relatively loosely bound to the nucleus if there are only few protons in that shell, because they are farthest from the center of the nucleus. Therefore, nuclei which have a full outer ...
If the nucleus is assumed to be spherically symmetric, an approximate relationship between nuclear radius and mass number arises above A=40 from the formula R=R o A 1/3 with R o = 1.2 ± 0.2 fm. [6] R is the predicted spherical nuclear radius, A is the mass number, and R o is a constant determined by experimental data.
Nuclear fission is the opposite process, causing a nucleus to split into two smaller nuclei—usually through radioactive decay. The nucleus can also be modified through bombardment by high energy subatomic particles or photons. If this modifies the number of protons in a nucleus, the atom changes to a different chemical element. [47] [48]
However, a helium nucleus weighs less than the sum of the weights of the two heavy hydrogen nuclei which combine to make it. [6] The same is true for carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. For example, the carbon nucleus is slightly lighter than three helium nuclei, which can combine to make a carbon nucleus. This difference is known as the mass defect.
The protoplasmic material of the nucleus including the nucleolus labelled as nucleoplasm. The nucleoplasm, also known as karyoplasm, [1] is the type of protoplasm that makes up the cell nucleus, the most prominent organelle of the eukaryotic cell. It is enclosed by the nuclear envelope, also known as the nuclear membrane. [2]