How does alpha decay affect the nucleus?
1 Answer
Jun 16, 2016
In alpha decay the nucleus loses 2 protons and 2 neutrons.
Explanation:
An alpha (
In which
#A# , the atomic mass (protons + neutrons), decreases by four, because the emitted#alpha# -particle contains 2 protons and 2 neutrons.#Z# , the atomic number (number of protons), decreases by two, because the emitted#alpha# -particle contains 2 protons.
An example of this process is the decay of radium-226 to radon-222:
Note that sometime