Atoms with identical atomic numbers but different mass numbers are called isotopes, and the nucleus of a specific isotope is called a nuclide. ==Thirteen isotopes of carbon are known==.
Nuclear reactions are different from Chemical reactions in the following ways:
Radioactivity is the spontaneous emission of radiation from a nucleus.
There were at least two types of radiation, which were named alpha and beta after the first two letters of the Greek alphabet.
Shortly thereafter, a third type of radiation was found and named for the third Greek letter, gamma.
Alpha radiation bends toward the negative plate and must therefore have a positive charge. Beta radiation, by contrast, bends toward the positive plate and must have a negative charge, whereas gamma radiation does not bend toward either plate and has no charge.
Radioisotope is a radioactive isotope and radionuclide is the nucleus of a radioactive isotope.
The spontaneous emission of a particle from an unstable nucleus is called nuclear decay, or radioactive decay, and the resulting change of one element into another is called transmutation. ==Nuclear decay: Radioactive element → New element + Emitted partic==le
Positron is a positive electron, which has the same mass as an electron but a positive charge.
Electron capture, is a process in which the nucleus captures an inner-shell electron from the surrounding electron cloud, thereby converting a proton into a neutron, and energy is released in the form of gamma rays.
Unstable isotopes that have more protons than neutrons are more likely to undergo beta decay to convert a proton to a neutron, whereas unstable isotopes having more neutrons than protons are more likely to undergo either positron emission or electron capture to convert a neutron to a proton.
Half-life is the amount of time required for one-half of a radioactive sample to decay.
Decay series is a sequential series of nuclear disintegrations leading from a heavy radioisotope to a nonradioactive product.
X rays are like gamma rays; they have no mass and consist of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. The only difference between them is that the energy of X rays is somewhat less than that of gamma rays.
Cosmic rays are not rays at all but are a mixture of high-energy particles that shower Earth from outer space. They consist primarily of protons, along with some alpha and beta particles.
The simplest device for detecting exposure to radiation is the photographic film badge worn by people who routinely work with radioactive materials. The film is protected from exposure to light, but any other radiation striking the badge causes the film to fog. At regular intervals, the film is developed and compared with a standard to indicate the radiation exposure.
Artificial transmutation is the change of one atom into another brought about by a nuclear bombardment reaction.
Nuclear fission is when heavy nuclei fragment into lighter nuclei and Nuclear fusion is when lighter nuclei combine to form a heavier nuclide.
The minimum amount of radioactive material needed to sustain a nuclear chain reaction is called critical mass.
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