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The stages or steps in a decay chain are referred to by their relationship to previous or subsequent stages. Hence, a parent isotope is one that undergoes decay to form a daughter isotope. For example element 92, uranium, has an isotope with 144 neutrons (236 U) and it decays into an isotope of element 90, thorium, with 142 neutrons (232 Th ...
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is considered radioactive. Three of the most common types of decay are alpha, beta, and gamma decay.
The uranium-238 series is a series of α (N and Z less 2) and β− decays (N less 1, Z plus 1) to nuclides that are successively deeper into the valley of stability. The series terminates at lead-206, a stable nuclide at the bottom of the valley of stability. Radioactive decay often proceeds via a sequence of steps known as a decay chain.
The decay scheme of a radioactive substance is a graphical presentation of all the transitions occurring in a decay, and of their relationships. Examples are shown below. It is useful to think of the decay scheme as placed in a coordinate system, where the vertical axis is energy, increasing from bottom to top, and the horizontal axis is the proton number, increasing from left to right.
The decay chain of uranium-238, known as the uranium series or radium series, of which polonium-210 is a member Schematic of the final steps of the s-process.The red path represents the sequence of neutron captures; blue and cyan arrows represent beta decay, and the green arrow represents the alpha decay of 210 Po.
Uranium-234 (234 U or U-234) is an isotope of uranium.In natural uranium and in uranium ore, 234 U occurs as an indirect decay product of uranium-238, but it makes up only 0.0055% (55 parts per million, or 1/18,000) of the raw uranium because its half-life of just 245,500 years is only about 1/18,000 as long as that of 238 U.
Uranium-233 undergoes alpha decay with a half-life of 160,000 years and, like 235 U, is fissile. [12] It can be bred from thorium-232 via neutron bombardment, usually in a nuclear reactor; this process is known as the thorium fuel cycle.
Marked marginal decay chain arrows different from main decay order: 03:18, 27 December 2014: 490 × 690 (29 KB) Mikhail Ryazanov: decimal commas → points: 03:14, 27 December 2014: 490 × 690 (29 KB) Mikhail Ryazanov: rm. visual noise; kerning; units: 20:20, 19 November 2014: 490 × 690 (32 KB) RicHard-59: Beta decay arrow from polonium to ...