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Beryllium-8 (8 Be, Be-8) is a radionuclide with 4 neutrons and 4 protons. It is an unbound resonance and nominally an isotope of beryllium . It decays into two alpha particles with a half-life on the order of 8.19 × 10 −17 seconds.
Beryllium-10 (10 Be) is a radioactive isotope of beryllium. It is formed in the Earth's atmosphere mainly by cosmic ray spallation of nitrogen and oxygen. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Beryllium-10 has a half-life of 1.39 × 10 6 years, [ 6 ] [ 7 ] and decays by beta decay to stable boron-10 with a maximum energy of 556.2 keV.
(Note that the beryllium scale is inverted, so increases on this scale indicate lower beryllium-10 levels). Beryllium-10 has a half-life of 1.39 × 10 6 y, and decays by beta decay to stable boron-10 with a maximum energy of 556.2 keV. [7] [8] It is formed in the Earth's atmosphere mainly by cosmic ray spallation of nitrogen and oxygen.
Nuclear fusion reaction of two helium-4 nuclei produces beryllium-8, which is highly unstable, and decays back into smaller nuclei with a half-life of 8.19 × 10 −17 s, unless within that time a third alpha particle fuses with the beryllium-8 nucleus [3] to produce an excited resonance state of carbon-12, [4] called the Hoyle state, which ...
Within the cores of stars, beryllium is depleted as it is fused into heavier elements. Beryllium constitutes about 0.0004 percent by mass of Earth's crust. The world's annual beryllium production of 220 tons is usually manufactured by extraction from the mineral beryl, a difficult process because beryllium bonds strongly to oxygen.
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is considered radioactive. Three of the most common types of decay are alpha, beta, and gamma decay.
The spallation process results from the impact of cosmic rays (mostly fast protons) against the interstellar medium. These impacts fragment carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen nuclei present. The process results in the light elements beryllium, boron, and lithium in the cosmos at much greater abundances than they are found within solar atmospheres.
Alpha decay or α-decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle (helium nucleus). The parent nucleus transforms or "decays" into a daughter product , with a mass number that is reduced by four and an atomic number that is reduced by two.