Nuclear Physics: Radioactive Decay

Radioactive Decay When radiation is emitted from a nucleus, it undergoes decay The amount of decay is dependent on the type of emission

Alpha Emission Emission of a helium nucleus from a large atom Here is the symbol for alpha emission and an alpha particle reaction

Beta Emission The emission of an electron when a neutron decays into a proton Here is the symbol for beta emission and the process undergone in beta emission

Gamma Emission The emission of high energy photons from an unstable nucleus This radiation does not change the formation of the nucleus Here is an example of a gamma emission reaction

Activity & Half-Life of a Radioactive SourceActivity: Number of nuclei decaying per secondScalar quantityUnit - Becquerel (Bq)Half-life: Time taken for half of the nuclei to decay

Law of Radioactive Decay:The activity of a radioactive source is proportional to the number of undecayed nuclei presentA = λ N A = activity λ  = decay constant N= number of undecayed nuclei

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