Radioactivity alpha decay

An alplia p uticle is an energetic helium nucleus. The alplia particle is released from a radioactive element witli a neutron to proton ratio tliat is too low. The helium nucleus consists of two protons and two neutrons. The alplia particle differs from a helimn atom in that it is emitted witliout any electrons. The resulting daughter product from tliis tj pe of transformation lias an atomic number Uiat is two less tluin its parent and an atomic mass number tliat is four less. Below is an e. aiiiple of alpha decay using polonium (Po) polonium has an atomic mass number of 210 (protons and neutrons) and atomic number of 84. 

Plutonium has a much shorter half-life than uranium (24.000 years for Pu-239 6,500 years for Pu-240). Plutonium is most toxic if it is inhaled. The radioactive decay that plutonium undergoes (alpha decay) is of little external consequence, since the alpha particles are blocked by human skin and travel only a few inches. If inhaled, however, the soft tissue of the lungs will suffer an internal dose of radiation. Particles may also enter the blood stream and irradiate other parts of the body. The safest way to handle plutonium is in its plutonium dioxide (PuOj) form because PuOj is virtually insoluble inside the human body, gi eatly reducing the risk of internal contamination. 

While it is expected that the source rocks for the radionuclides of interest in many environments were deposited more than a million years ago and that the isotopes of uranium would be in a state of radioactive equilibrium, physical fractionation of " U from U during water-rock interaction results in disequilibrium conditions in the fluid phase. This is a result of (1) preferential leaching of " U from damaged sites of the crystal lattice upon alpha decay of U, (2) oxidation of insoluble tetravalent " U to soluble hexavalent " U during alpha decay, and (3) alpha recoil of " Th (and its daughter " U) into the solute phase. If initial ( " U/ U).4 in the waters can be reasonably estimated a priori, the following relationship can be used to establish the time T since deposition,... 

The recoil factors r define the probability of whether an attached radioactive atom desorbs from the particle surface in consequence of an alpha decay or not. Mercer and Strowe (1971) found a recoil factor = 0.81 in their chamber studies in contradiction to the value of ri 0.4 measured by Kolerski et al. (1973). No other results about the recoil factor are available in the literature. 

The alpha particle is a helium nucleus produced from the radioactive decay of heavy metals and some nuclear reactions. Alpha decay often occurs among nuclei that have a favorable neutron/proton ratio, but contain too many nucleons for stability. The alpha particle is a massive particle consisting of an assembly of two protons and two neutrons and a resultant charge of +2. 

In the second of their 1915 papers (Harkins and Wilson 1915b), Harkins and Wilson note from their study of the light elements (up to atomic number 27) that the main isotopic species had atomic masses which are integral multiples of 4. They concluded from this that, for those light nuclei, an important constituent must be the alpha particle just as it must be in the heavier radioactive nuclei which undergo alpha decay. In order to rationalize all the nuclei, including their nuclear charges, they... 

ISOTOPES All 41 isotopes of astatine are radioactive, with half-lives ranging from 125 nanoseconds to 8.1 hours. The isotope As-210, the most stable isotope with an 8.1-hour half-life, is used to determine the atomic weight of astatine. As-210 decays by alpha decay into bismuth-206 or by electron capture into polonium-210. 

Helium in the Earth is replaced by the decay of radioactive elements in the Earths crust. Alpha decay produces particles f He ) known as alpha particles, which can become helium atoms after they capture two electrons. This new helium works its way to the surface of the Earth and escapes into the atmosphere where, in time, it escapes into space. 

ISOTOPES There are 37 isotopes of radon. All are radioactive. None are stable. They range in mass numbers from Rn-196 to Rn-228. Their half-lives range from a few microseconds to 3.8235 days for Rn-222, which is the most common. It is a gas that is the result of alpha decay of radium, thorium, or uranium ores and underground rocks. 

Actinium is an extremely radioactive, silvery-white, heavy metal that glows in the dark with an eerie bluish hght. It decays rapidly which makes it difficult to study, given that it changes into thorium and francium through electron capmre and alpha decay. Its melting point is 1,051°C, its boding point is 3,198°C, and its density is 10.07g/cm. ... 

Uranium is the fourth metal in the actinide series. It looks much like other actinide metallic elements with a silvery luster. It is comparatively heavy, yet malleable and ductile. It reacts with air to form an oxide of uranium. It is one of the few naturally radioactive elements that is fissionable, meaning that as it absorbs more neutrons, it splits into a series of other lighter elements (lower atomic weights) through a process of alpha decay and beta emission that is known as the uranium decay series, as follows U-238—> Th-234—>Pa-234—>U-234—> Th-230 Ra-226 Rn-222 Po-218 Pb-2l4 At-218 Bi-2l4 Rn-218 Po-2l4 Ti-210—>Pb-210—>Bi-210 Ti-206—>Pb-206 (stable isotope of lead,... 

ISOTOPES There are a total of 23 isotopes of neptunium. None are stable. All are radioactive with half-lives ranging from two microseconds to 2.144xl0+ years for the isotope Np-237, which spontaneously fissions through alpha decay. 

The most important radioactive isotope of neptunium is Neptunium-237, with a half-life of 2.l44xl0+ years, or about 2.1 million years, and decays into protactinium-233 through alpha decay. Neptunium s most important use is in nuclear research and for instruments designed to detect neutrons. 

The most stable isotope of plutonium is Pu-244, with a half-life of S.OOxlO+ years (about 82,000,000 years). Being radioactive, Pu-244 can decay in two different ways. One way involves alpha decay, resulting in the formation of the isotope uranium-240, and the other is through spontaneous fission. 

ISOTOPES There are 24 isotopes of americium. All are radioactive with half-lives ranging from 72 microseconds to over 7,000 years. Five of americium s isotopes are fissionable with spontaneous alpha decay. 

ISOTOPES There are 23 isotopes of curium. All of them are man-made and radioactive. The most stable is curium-247, with a half-life of 1.56xl0+ years (156,600,000 years), which through alpha decay transmutates into plutonium-243. 

ISOTOPES There are a total of 21 isotopes of californium. None are found in nature and all are artificially produced and radioactive. Their half-lives range from 45 nanoseconds for californium-246 to 898 years for californium-251, which is its most stable isotope and which decays into curium-247 either though spontaneous fission or by alpha decay. 

The transactinide series of elements (Z-104 to Z-113) are those elements that follow the actinide series (Z-89 to Z-103) and proceed to the superactinides, some of which are yet to be discovered. (Note Z is the symbol used to represent the atomic numbers [protons] of elements in the transactinide series, as well as of other elements.) All elements of the transactinide series are radioactive, heavy metals that are unstable, and they usually decay by spontaneous fission or alpha decay into smaller nuclei of elements with less mass. 

ISOTOPES There are a total of 15 Isotopes for rutherfordlum, ranging from Rf-253 to Rf-264. Their half-lives range from 23 microseconds to 10 minutes. They are all artificially made, radioactive, and unstable. Their decay modes are a combination of alpha decay and spontaneous fission (SF). 

ORIGIN OF NAME Named after and in honor of the nuclear chemist Glenn T. Seaborg. ISOTOPES There a total of 16 Isotopes of unnilhexium (seaborgium) with half-lives ranging from 2.9 milliseconds to 22 seconds. All are artificially produced and radioactive, and they decay by spontaneous fission (SF) or alpha decay. 

They realized that the particles emitted by radioactive elements as they decay are in fact little bits of the atomic nuclei. By expelling them, the nucleus alters the number of protons it contains, and so it becomes the nucleus of a different element. Alpha decay carries off two protons and two neutrons (a helium nucleus), and so it converts one element to a slightly lighter element two columns earlier in the Periodic Table. Beta decay transforms a neutron into an electron (which is emitted) and a proton (which stays in the nucleus) - so the atomic number increases and the element moves one column further across the Periodic Table. Niels Bohr and Soddy formulated this rule, which was called the radioactive displacement law. 

Many radioisotopes exist, but not all radioisotopes are created equal. Radioisotopes break down through three separate decay processes (or decay modes) alpha decay, beta decay, and gamma decay. The following sections show you equations detailing each type of decay. Note The symbols showing the isotope notation for each radioactive isotope cire as follows or 2 Y, where... 

ACTINON. The name of the isotope of radon (emanation), which occurs in the naturally occurring actinium, series being, produced by alpha-decay of actinium X, which is itself a radium isotope. Achnon has an atomic number of 86, a mass number of 219, and a half-life of 3.92 seconds, emitting an alpha particle to form polonium-215 (Actinium A). See also Chemical Elements and Radioactivity. 

ALPHA DECAY. The emission of alpha particles by radioactive nuclei. The name alpha particle was applied in the earlier years of radioactivity investigations, before it was fully understood what alpha particles are. It is known now that alpha particles are the same as helium nuclei. When a radioactive nucleus emits an alpha particle, its atomic number decreases by Z = 2 and its mass number by A = 4. The process is a spontaneous nuclear reaction, and the radionuclide that undergoes the emission is known as an alpha emitter. 

Alpha decay improves the stability of radioactive nuclei that lie to the right of the belt of stability. Emission of an alpha particle moves the nucleus diagonally toward the belt of stability because the numbers of both protons and neutrons are decreased by 2. The alpha particle is the least dangerous form of radiation as it has little ability to penetrate tissue. 

Because helium forms no compounds and is almost absent in the Earth s atmosphere, it was unknown for a long time. The first clue leading to its discovery was an unidentified yellow emission line in the solar chromospheric spectrum observed by French astronomer Pierre Janssen during an eclipse of the Sun in 1868. Lockyer named the unknown element helium for the Greek sun god, helios. Subsequendy it was discovered to be rather abundant in radioactive rocks, where it is trapped after emission from uranium series alpha decays. Ramsay and Soddy showed that the alpha rays were helium atoms whose electrons had been stripped away. In his biography of Lord Rutherford, A. S. Eve wrote ... 

The isotopes ofHe do notalways occur in all natural samples in their usual proportion. Because helium has only two stable isotopes, variations in their abundance ratio are usually attributed to 3He. But in cases where radioactive alpha decays have enriched 4He, that reason for 4He richness is usually fairly obvious. One example is He in rocks containing uranium. The 4He/3He ratio is about 100 times greater than solar in the Earth s atmosphere because the history of radioactive decay of uranium in the Earth (Rutherford ) and its outgassing has enriched our atmosphere in daughter 4He. 

Uranium was the first element shown to be radioactive. Complete the following reaction representing the alpha decay of uranium-238. 

Marie Curie discovered the element polonium, Po, in 1898. She named polonium after Poland, her homeland. Curie won two Nobel Prizes, one in Physics (1903) for sharing in the discovery of radioactivity, and one in Chemistry (1911) for the discovery of radium, which has been used to treat cancer. Radium-226 undergoes alpha decay to yield radon-222. 

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