19,916
edits
Changes
no edit summary
: An '''unstable [[isotope]]''' may be too [[massive]] so it can lose an [[Alpha Particle|alpha particle]] to become a less [[massive]] [[element]] or it can split into two smaller, more [[Stable Isotope|stable]] [[element]]s in a process called [[Nuclear Fission|nuclear fission]].
: An '''unstable [[isotope]]''' may be [[vibrate|vibrating]] with excess [[energy]] so to lose this [[energy]] it will [[emit]] [[Gamma Radiation|gamma radiation]].
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|[[File:NuclearKey.png|center|300px]]
| style="height:20px; width:300px; text-align:center;" |This is a key to show the types of [[particle]]s in the following [[Radioactive Decay|decays]] of [[Unstable Isotope|unstable nuclei]].
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|[[File:AlphaDecay3.png|center|300px]]
|[[File:BetaDecay3.png|center|300px]]
|-
| style="height:20px; width:300px; text-align:center;" |This [[Atomic Nucleus|nucleus]] is [[Unstable Isotope|unstable]] because it is too [[massive]] or has too few [[neutron]]s relative to [[proton]]s so it [[Radioactive Decay|decays]] via [[Alpha Radiation|alpha emission]] reducing the [[Relative Atomic Mass|atomic mass]] by 4 and the [[Atomic Number|atomic number]] by 2.
| style="height:20px; width:300px; text-align:center;" |This [[Atomic Nucleus|nucleus]] is [[Unstable Isotope|unstable]] because it is too many [[neutron]]s so it [[Radioactive Decay|decay]]s via [[Beta Radiation|beta emission]] increasing the [[Atomic Number|atomic number]] by 1.
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|[[File:GammaDecay3.png|center|300px]]
|[[File:Fission3.png|center|300px]]
|-
| style="height:20px; width:300px; text-align:center;" |This [[Atomic Nucleus|nucleus]] is [[Unstable Isotope|unstable]] because it is has excess [[Vibrational Energy|vibrational energy]]. After the [[Radioactive Decay|decay]] it still has the same [[Relative Atomic Mass|atomic mass]] and [[Atomic Number|atomic number]] but is no longer [[vibrating]].
| style="height:20px; width:300px; text-align:center;" |This [[Atomic Nucleus|nucleus]] is [[Unstable Isotope|unstable]] because it is far too [[massive]] and has too many [[neutron]]s so it [[Radioactive Decay|decay]]s by splitting into two smaller, more [[Stable Isotope|stable]] [[element]]s and releases some [[neutron]]s.
|}