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Alpha decay or α-decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle (helium nucleus). The parent nucleus transforms or "decays" into a daughter product , with a mass number that is reduced by four and an atomic number that is reduced by two.
Secondly, he found the charge-to-mass ratio of alpha particles to be half that of the hydrogen ion. Rutherford proposed three explanations: 1) an alpha particle is a hydrogen molecule (H 2) with a charge of 1 e; 2) an alpha particle is an atom of helium with a charge of 2 e; 3) an alpha particle is half a helium atom with a charge of 1 e.
The stability of helium-4 is the reason that hydrogen is converted to helium-4, and not deuterium (hydrogen-2) or helium-3 or other heavier elements during fusion reactions in the Sun. It is also partly responsible for the alpha particle being by far the most common type of baryonic particle to be ejected from an atomic nucleus; in other words ...
Any decay daughters that are the result of an alpha decay will also result in helium atoms being created. Some radionuclides may have several different paths of decay. For example, 35.94(6) % [ 27 ] of bismuth-212 decays, through alpha-emission, to thallium-208 while 64.06(6) % [ 27 ] of bismuth-212 decays, through beta-emission, to polonium-212 .
The most common isotope, 4 He, is produced on Earth by alpha decay of heavier elements; the alpha particles that emerge are fully ionized 4 He nuclei. 4 He is an unusually stable nucleus because it is doubly magic. It was formed in enormous quantities in Big Bang nucleosynthesis. Terrestrial helium consists almost exclusively (all but ~2ppm ...
Helium-3 (3 He [1] [2] see also helion) is a light, stable isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron. (In contrast, the most common isotope, helium-4, has two protons and two neutrons.) Helium-3 and protium (ordinary hydrogen) are the only stable nuclides with more protons than neutrons. It was discovered in 1939.
The most common isotope, helium-4, is produced on Earth by alpha decay of heavier radioactive elements; the alpha particles that emerge are fully ionized helium-4 nuclei. Helium-4 is an unusually stable nucleus because its nucleons are arranged into complete shells. It was also formed in enormous quantities during Big Bang nucleosynthesis. [113]
The term helion is a portmanteau of helium and ion, and in practice refers specifically to the nucleus of the helium-3 isotope, consisting of two protons and one neutron. The nucleus of the other (and far more common) stable isotope of helium, helium-4, consisting of two protons and two neutrons, is called an alpha particle or an alpha for short.