Does weak nuclear force cause radioactivity?
1 Answer
The weak nuclear force is responsible for only the beta decay form of radioactivity.
Explanation:
There are three forms of radioactivity, alpha, beta and gamma.
Alpha decay only occurs in heavier elements which give up energy when the nucleus is divided. An alpha particle is a Helium nucleus consisting of two protons and two neutrons. Unstable nuclei can emit an alpha particle by a quantum tunnelling effect which enables the repulsive electromagnetic force to overcome the strong nuclear force.
Beta decay is where a neutron turns into a proton by emitting an electron or a proton turns into a neutron by emitting a positron. Actually as a proton consists of two up quarks and a down quark and a neutron consists of two down quarks and an up quark, beta decay involves turning an up quark into a down quark or vice versa.
The weak nuclear force is mediated by the W bosons. To turn a neutron into a proton:
Gamma decay normally happens after alpha or beta decay when the nucleus is in an excited state. A high energy photon, a gamma ray, is emitted to return the nucleus to its ground state.
