Beta particle, loss

Each alpha particle loss lowers the mass number of the product nucleus by 4. Each beta particle loss lowers the mass number by 0. The mass numbers thus go down as follows ... 

There are three common ways by which nuclei can approach the region of stability (1) loss of alpha particles (a-decay) (2) loss of beta particles (/3-decay) (3) capture of an orbital electron. We have already encountered the first type of radioactivity, a-decay, in equation (/0). Emission of a helium nucleus, or alpha particle, is a common form of radioactivity among nuclei with charge greater than 82, since it provides a mechanism by which these nuclei can be converted to new nuclei of lower charge and mass which lie in the belt of stability. The actinides, in particular, are very likely to decay in this way. 

Ans. The number of alpha particles, calculated from the loss of mass number, is 8, because the mass number was lowered by 32. The number of beta particles is equal to twice the number of alpha particles minus the difference in atomic numbers of the two isotopes ... 

Radioactive decay is a nuclear process from an intrinsically unstable nucleus that emits alpha particles, beta particles and gamma rays. The loss of mass from the nucleus changes the element to one of a lower mass. Carbon dating uses the decay of the 14C nucleus, a heavy and unstable isotope of carbon, to become the stable 14N isotope. The overall process is written ... 

When the nucleus of a radioactive atom disintegrates, it emits various particles and so changes its own composition. When an alpha particle is lost then a new element is formed, which is two places to the left in the periodic table. When a beta particle is lost then a new element is formed which is one place to the right in the periodic table. Therefore, by a series of losses of alpha and beta particles, the element progressively changes. This is called decay , and the pattern it follows until a stable nuclear arrangement is reached (usually when the element lead is formed) is called the decay series (see Chapter 12). 

The emission of an alpha particle lowers the mass number of the daughter isotope by 4 the emission of a beta particle or a gamma particle produces no loss... 

Molecules of a labeled protein may be also degraded during interactions of radiation emitted by adjacent molecules in the preparation. The interaction of a beta particle or a gamma quantum with a protein molecule produces various ionizations and even disruption of chemical bonds. The number of different fragments generated increases with die complexity of the original molecule, but the concentration of each remains negligible. The loss of the labeled compound due to this process is much lower than that due to the radioactive decay process. 

What about emission of beta particles Beta particles are electrons and electrons are in orbits round the nucleus, so surely the loss of an electron cannot affect the nucleus It does, though. For example, the thorium... 

Gamow s research career focused on two major fields, seemingly about as far apart as one can imagine nuclear physics and astronomy. In his work on nuclear physics, he devised explanations for two ways in which nuclei can decay, by the loss of alpha particles and by the emission of beta particles. During World War II, he was a member of the Manhattan Project, the program for the development of the first atomic (fission) bomb, and he was later involved in work on the first hydrogen (fusion) bomb. 

When an unstable isotope decays, it forms a new isotope and a new element. In the case of iron-59, for example, the loss of a beta particle results in the formation of cobalt-59, an element not otherwise formed by fusion reactions described thus far ... 

In Soddy s time, it was felt that there were electrons in the nucleus and that the loss of a beta particle from the nucleus left an additional proton unbalanced, hence raised the positive charge. Nowadays, it is felt that the nucleus contains only protons and neutrons, but that an electron is formed and expelled when a neutron is converted into a proton, for the gain of a positive charge is equivalent to the loss, by expulsion, of a negative charge. 

Beta emission is loss of a beta particle ( Je) by the nucleus ... 

Conventional methods used to measure total activity in liquid samples are seldom adequate for any useful purpose and the data obtained are usually impossible to interpret. Evaporation of the sample in preparation for counting can result in losses of volatile nuclides such as C, Ru, and I. Large uncertainties are usually introduced due to absorption and scattering of the beta particles in the deposited salts on the planchet. Low energy radiation, emitted by such common nuclides as C, Fe, Ca, and Cr, is not normally detected by these methods. 

Loss of a beta particle from the nucleus results in no change in the mass number (A) increase of 1 in the atomic number (Z)... 

Loss of a beta particle from the nucleus results in ... 

The nuclide Np-237 loses a total of seven alpha particles and four beta particles. What nuclide remains after these losses ... 

M Figure 21.4 Nuclear disintegration series for uranium-238. The nucleus decays to oTh. Subsequent decay processes eventually form the stable gfPb nucleus. Each blue arrow corresponds to the loss of an alpha particle each red arrow corresponds to the loss of a beta particle. 

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