Beta emissions defined

Millikan s experiment did not prove, of course, that (he charge on the cathode ray. beta ray, photoelectric, or Zeeman particle was e. But if we call all such particles electrons, and assume that they have e/m = 1.76 x Hi" coulombs/kg. and e = 1.60 x 10" coulomb (and hence m =9.1 x 10 " kg), we find that they fit very well into Bohr s theory of the hydrogen atom and successive, more comprehensive atomic theories, into Richardson s equations for thermionic emission, into Fermi s theory of beta decay, and so on. In other words, a whole web of modem theory and experiment defines the electron. The best current value of e = (1.60206 0.00003) x 10 g coulomb. 

Define or illustrate the following terms thermodynamic stability kinetic stability radioactive decay beta-particle production alpha-particle production positron production electron capture gamma-ray emissions... 

A nucleus with an unstable ratio of neutrons to protons may decay through the emission of a high-speed electron defined as beta particle and results in a net change of one unit of atomic number. Beta particles are negatively charged, and the beta particles emitted by a specific radionuclide ranges in energy from near zero up to a maximum value, which is characteristic of the particular transformation. 

---