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  2. Half-life - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-life

    Half-life (symbol t½) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable atoms survive. The term is also used more generally to characterize any type of exponential (or, rarely ...

  3. Alpha decay - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_decay

    t. e. Alpha decay or α-decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle ( helium nucleus) and thereby transforms or "decays" into a different atomic nucleus, with a mass number that is reduced by four and an atomic number that is reduced by two. An alpha particle is identical to the nucleus of a helium-4 ...

  4. Radioactive decay - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_decay

    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.

  5. Beta decay - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_decay

    t. e. In nuclear physics, beta decay (β-decay) is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits a beta particle (fast energetic electron or positron ), transforming into an isobar of that nuclide. For example, beta decay of a neutron transforms it into a proton by the emission of an electron accompanied by an antineutrino; or ...

  6. Geiger–Nuttall law - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geiger–Nuttall_law

    In nuclear physics, the Geiger–Nuttall law or Geiger–Nuttall rule relates the decay constant of a radioactive isotope with the energy of the alpha particles emitted. Roughly speaking, it states that short-lived isotopes emit more energetic alpha particles than long-lived ones. The relationship also shows that half-lives are exponentially ...

  7. Exponential decay - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exponential_decay

    Exponential decay is a scalar multiple of the exponential distribution (i.e. the individual lifetime of each object is exponentially distributed), which has a well-known expected value. We can compute it here using integration by parts .

  8. Weak interaction - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weak_interaction

    e. In nuclear physics and particle physics, the weak interaction, also called the weak force is one of the four known fundamental interactions, with the others being electromagnetism, the strong interaction, and gravitation. It is the mechanism of interaction between subatomic particles that is responsible for the radioactive decay of atoms ...

  9. Nuclear transmutation - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation

    Nuclear transmutation is the conversion of one chemical element or an isotope into another chemical element. [1] Nuclear transmutation occurs in any process where the number of protons or neutrons in the nucleus of an atom is changed. A transmutation can be achieved either by nuclear reactions (in which an outside particle reacts with a nucleus ...