Unstable Isotope
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Key Stage 4
Meaning
Unstable Isotopes are isotopes which radioactively decay to form new stable isotopes of the same element or a different element.
About Unstable Isotopes
- An isotope may be unstable if it has too many, too few neutrons or the nucleus is too massive.
- An unstable isotope may decay causing it to transmute into a new element or a more stable isotope of the same element by releasing a particle from the nucleus.
- An unstable isotope may be too massive so it can lose an alpha particle to become a less massive element or it can split into two smaller, more stable elements in a process called nuclear fission.