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Alpha decay is by far the most common form of cluster decay, where the parent atom ejects a defined daughter collection of nucleons, leaving another defined product behind. It is the most common form because of the combined extremely high nuclear binding energy and relatively small mass of the alpha particle.
The four most common modes of radioactive decay are: alpha decay, beta decay, inverse beta decay (considered as both positron emission and electron capture), and isomeric transition. Of these decay processes, only alpha decay (fission of a helium-4 nucleus) changes the atomic mass number ( A ) of the nucleus, and always decreases it by four.
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.
Actinium-225 (225 Ac, Ac-225) is an isotope of actinium.It undergoes alpha decay to francium-221 with a half-life of 10 days, and is an intermediate decay product in the neptunium series (the decay chain starting at 237 Np).
Alpha particles, also called alpha rays or alpha radiation, consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium-4 nucleus. [5] They are generally produced in the process of alpha decay but may also be produced in other ways. Alpha particles are named after the first letter in the Greek alphabet, α.
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.
Targeted alpha-particle therapy (or TAT) is an in-development method of targeted radionuclide therapy of various cancers. It employs radioactive substances which undergo alpha decay to treat diseased tissue at close proximity. [1] It has the potential to provide highly targeted treatment, especially to microscopic tumour cells.
Decay Scheme of 210 Po. Here, to the left, we now have an alpha decay. It is the decay of the element Polonium [6] discovered by Marie Curie, with mass number 210. The isotope 210 Po is the penultimate member of the uranium-radium-decay series; it decays into a stable lead-isotope with a half-life of 138 days.