Radioactive decay
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Radioactive decay is the process of a big and unstable nucleus breaking apart into lighter parts.
There are many kinds of nuclear decay like alpha decay, beta decay and gamma decay.
[edit] Alpha decay
An unstable atom goes through alpha decay to become more stable. During alpha decay, the atomic nucleus release an alpha particle. The nucleus will lose two protons and two neutrons during this process. After the decay, the atom will change to another element because the atom loses two protons. Alpha irradiation does not cause any damage to us because our skin does not let the alpha particles go through. Alpha particles cannot even go through a few centimeters of air.
[edit] Beta decay
There are two kinds of beta decay, beta-plus and beta-minus.
In beta-plus decay, the nucleus gives out an positron, a neutrino, and a neutron by decreasing one proton:
.
- where
is the proton- n0 is the neutron
- e + is the positron
- νe is the neutrino
Beta-plus decay only take place inside nuclei when the amount of the binding energy of the daughter nucleus is higher than the binding energy of the mother nucleus.
In beta-minus decay, the nucleus gives out an electron, an anti-neutrino and proton by decreasing a neutron:
.
- where
- n0 is the neutron
- is the proton
- e − is the electron
is the anti-neutrino
[edit] Gamma decay
Every radioactive decay releases gamma rays. It may take place after a particle is released, or by itself just to make the nucleus more stable.
