![]() Some radionuclides can be found in nature while others can be created through particle bombardment or nuclear fission. When there are many steps in a decay scheme, the balance between amounts of the various radionuclides can reach various states of equilibriums including transient equilibrium and secular equilibrium. These equations can also be used to derive the half-life and mean life of a particular radio-isotope. The activity of these decay schemes can be described mathematically by using decay constants and natural log functions. Whenever any of these decay schemes result in an excited nucleus, the nucleus may resume stability by releasing its energy as a gamma ray or by performing an internal conversion, transferring its energy to an electron. annihilated without changing the net external appearance of the proton. If a nucleus is neutron heavy it will likely undergo beta-minus decay. The proton is a baryon and is considered to be composed of two up quarks and one. If a nucleus is very light and proton heavy, it will undergo either positron emission or electron capture. If the nucleus is very heavy and has too many protons, it may undergo alpha decay (release a helium nucleus). When this change happens to a neutron within the nucleus of an atom, the proton remains behind in the nucleus while the electron and neutrino are ejected from the nucleus. ![]() ![]() When atoms become unstable, they undergo changes called radioactive decay. One form of nuclear radiation, beta decay, occurs when a neutron changes into a proton, an electron, and a neutral particle called a neutrino:np++e+ where is the symbol for a neutrino. ![]()
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