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v. t. e. Alpha decay or α-decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle (helium nucleus) and thereby transforms or "decays" into a different atomic nucleus, with a mass number that is reduced by four and an atomic number that is reduced by two. An alpha particle is identical to the nucleus of a helium ...
Alpha particles, also called alpha rays or alpha radiation, consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium-4 nucleus. [5] They are generally produced in the process of alpha decay but may also be produced in other ways. Alpha particles are named after the first letter in the Greek alphabet, α.
Any decay daughters that are the result of an alpha decay will also result in helium atoms being created. Some radionuclides may have several different paths of decay. For example, 35.94(6) % [26] of bismuth-212 decays, through alpha-emission, to thallium-208 while 64.06(6) % [26] of bismuth-212 decays, through beta-emission, to polonium-212.
Particle decay. Spontaneous breakdown of an unstable subatomic particle into other particles. In particle physics, particle decay is the spontaneous process of one unstable subatomic particle transforming into multiple other particles. The particles created in this process (the final state) must each be less massive than the original, although ...
The decay scheme of a radioactive substance is a graphical presentation of all the transitions occurring in a decay, and of their relationships. Examples are shown below. It is useful to think of the decay scheme as placed in a coordinate system, where the vertical axis is energy, increasing from bottom to top, and the horizontal axis is the proton number, increasing from left to right.
Nuclear chemistry. Alpha decay is one type of radioactive decay, in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle, and thereby transforms (or "decays") into an atom with a mass number decreased by 4 and atomic number decreased by 2. Nuclear chemistry is the sub-field of chemistry dealing with radioactivity, nuclear processes, and ...
The field of radioanalytical chemistry was originally developed by Marie Curie with contributions by Ernest Rutherford and Frederick Soddy. They developed chemical separation and radiation measurement techniques on terrestrial radioactive substances. During the twenty years that followed 1897 the concepts of radionuclides was born. [1]
In nuclear physics, the Geiger–Nuttall law or Geiger–Nuttall rule relates the decay constant of a radioactive isotope with the energy of the alpha particles emitted. Roughly speaking, it states that short-lived isotopes emit more energetic alpha particles than long-lived ones. The relationship also shows that half-lives are exponentially ...