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a stable nuclide Xe .
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nuclide.
Radioactive Processes and Conservation Laws
Three process Alpha decay , Beta decay and
gamma decay .
Three Conservation laws are :
The law of conservation of energy: it states that
the total energy(mass energy+ kinetic energy +
energy in any other form) remains unchanged
during a radioactive process or no clear
transformation.
The law of conservation of mass number: it
states that the sum of mass number remains
unchanged in nuclear process.
The law of conservation of electric charge: it
states that the total charge during a
radioactive process or nuclear transformation
remains unchanged.
Alpha Decay (α ):
In alpha decay radionuclide emits a heavy
charged particle called a alpha particle.
An alpha particle is four times heavier than
a proton or neutron and carries an electric
charge that that is twice that of a proton .
In fact an alpha particle is stable nuclide
with atomic mass number A = 4 and atomic
number Z = 2 . This happens to be the
nucleus of a helium atom.
.
Example of alpha decay of radium 226
to radon 222.
Two salient facts concerning alpha
decay to remember are that it occurs
mostly with radionuclide whose atomic
mass number A is greater than 150 and
the kinetic energy of the emitted alpha
particle is fixed and discrete for a given
decay
In the above example of 226Ra22 alpha
decay , the kinetic energy of alpha
particle emitted is 4.780 MeV
BETA DECAY
Beta particles are negatively charged
electrons emitted by the nucleus.
The mass of an electron is a tiny
fraction of an atomic mass unit, mass of
a nucleus that undergoes beta decay
is changed by only a tiny amount.
The mass number is unchanged. The
nucleus contains no electrons.
Rather, b decay occurs.
when a neutron is changed into a
proton within the nucleus. An unseen
neutrino, , accompanies
each b decay.
The number of protons, and thus the
atomic number, is increased by one.
For example :
the isotope 14C is unstable and emits a
β particle, becoming the stable
isotope 14N:
In a stable nucleus, the neutron does not
decay.
A free neutron, or one bound in a
nucleus that has an excess of neutrons,
can decay by emitting a b particle.
Sharing the energy with the b particle is
a neutrino.
The neutrino has little or no mass and is
uncharged, but, like the photon, it
carries momentum and energy.
The source of the energy released
in b decay is explained by the fact that
the mass of the parent isotope is larger
than the sum of the masses of the decay
products.
Mass is converted into energy just as
Einstein predicted.
Electron capture: A proton inside the
nucleus is converted into a neutron by
capturing an electron from once of the
atomic shell. The probability of a capture
from the k shell is generally much higher
than that from the L or M shell.
γ Decay: Gamma rays are a type
of electromagnetic radiation that results
from a redistribution of electric charge
within a nucleus. A gamma ray is a high
energy photon.
The only thing which distinguishes a g ray
from the visible photons emitted by a
light bulb is its wavelength; the g ray's
wavelength is much shorter.
For complex nuclei there are many
different possible ways in which the
neutrons and protons can be arranged
within the nucleus.
Gamma rays can be emitted when a
nucleus undergoes a transition from one
such configuration to another.
For example, this can occur when the
shape of the nucleus undergoes a
change.
Neither the mass number nor the atomic
number is changed when a nucleus
emits a g ray in the reaction.
152Dy* ----> 152Dy + γ
High energy photon emission: in this
process, the excess energy of an isomer
is released in the form of high energy
photon known as a y-ray.
Internal conversion: sometimes a nuclide
in an excited state, instead of emitting a
y-ray, transfer its excess energy directly
to an orbital electron.
The ratio of the number of electron to
the number y-ray emitted by a collection
of excited nuclei is called coefficient of
internal conversion(ic) for the excited
state.
Ic= total number of electron emitted
total number of y-ray emitted