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For the free neutron, the decay energy for this process (based on the rest masses of the neutron, proton and electron) is 0.782 343 MeV. That is the difference between the rest mass of the neutron and the sum of the rest masses of the products.
Neutron decay is a type of radioactive decay of nuclei containing excess neutrons (especially fission products), in which a neutron is simply ejected from the nucleus. This type of radiation plays a key role in nuclear reactor control because these neutrons are delayed neutrons .
While neutrons are stable inside many nuclei, free neutrons decay with a lifetime of about 15 minutes. This makes them a radiation problem around nuclear reactors, since they can leak out of the reactor and decay.
In \(\beta^+\) decay, it is as if one of the protons in the parent nucleus decays into a neutron, a positron, and a neutrino. Protons do not do this outside of the nucleus, and so the decay is due to the complexities of the nuclear force.
Neutron decay refers to the process where a free neutron outside the nucleus breaks down into a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino, releasing energy in the form of 0.782 MeV. This decay occurs due to the neutron's instability and has a very short lifetime.
Nuclides that are imbalanced in their ratio of protons to neutrons undergo decay to correct the imbalance. Nuclei that are rich in protons relative to their number of neutrons can decay by conversion of a proton to a neutron, emitting a positron (01e+ 1 0 e +) and a neutrino (ν).
Nuclear decay (Radioactive decay) occurs when an unstable atom loses energy by emitting ionizing radiation. Radioactive decay is a random process at the level of single atoms, in that, according to quantum theory, it is impossible to predict when a particular atom will decay.