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When the blank is not large enough to hold a nucleus together tightly the nucleus can become radioactive?
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Why would an atom become radio active?
Atoms of an element do not become radioactive, they are radioactive. This is because their nuclei are unstable. The nucleus of an atom contains protons and these are positively charged electrically. When you squeeze a lot of bodies with the same charge tightly together the charges repel one another strongly and the nucleus wants to (and does) fly apart. This is the driver for radioactivity. To enable the large atomic nuclei of the heavier elements to exist, you must space out the protons in the nucleus with neutral particles called neutrons. The presence of the neutrons and how many of them there are help stabilise atomic nuclei and slows down the rate of radioactive decay in certain configurations of packing.
When does the nucleus of an atom become unstable?
The answer is: The strong nuclear force is not large enough to overcome the electric force for large nuclei. Hope I answered your question.=)
What happens to a region when radioactive particles are released?
This region become a radioactive contaminated area.
Does brachytherapy make people radioactive?
Patients receiving brachytherapy do become temporarily radioactive
Under which conditions is a nucleus unstable?
When certain combinations of protons and neutrons form an atomic nucleus, there is the possibility that the nucleus may be unstable. There may be too few or too many protons for the number of neutrons present, or there may be too few or too many neutrons for the number of protons present. In any case, if the nucleus is unstable, that nucleus is said to be radioactive. There is another case in which a nucleus can be unstable, and that is that it is simply too large to be able to stay together. Recall that nuclear binding energy holds atomic nuclei together, and it overcomes the electromagnetic repulsion of the positively charged protons to do this. But when atoms become "really big" as we see them at the top end of the periodic table, they are uniformly unstable. They are all radioactive and will eventually undergo nuclear decay of some kind. In a radioactive substance, the instability of the nuclei of the atoms will eventually "win out" over the binding energy holding the nuclei together, and the nucleus will "fall apart" or even "split" in some cases. Is there a "magic number" associated with the disproportionality that will tell us if a given atom is unstable? No, there isn't. We have to look at things on a case by case basis. Recall that atoms of the same element that have differing numbers of neutrons in them are isotopes of that element. And for a given element, some unstable isotopes exist. They may appear in nature, or we may see them in the physics lab. In addition to the existence natural or synthesized radioactive isotopes of the elements, some elements have no stable isotopes whatsoever. That means all isotopes of those elements are radioisotopes, and are radioactive. You probably recall the element technetium, which has no stable isotopes. That's an example, and we see more examples at the "top end" of the periodic table where the nuclei of the elements are huge. The binding energy or nuclear glue holding the nuclei together is losing ground to the repulsive forces of all the positively charged protons. Eventually we'll reach a point where a massive nucleus won't stay together, no matter what.
Why would an atom become radio active?
Atoms of an element do not become radioactive, they are radioactive. This is because their nuclei are unstable. The nucleus of an atom contains protons and these are positively charged electrically. When you squeeze a lot of bodies with the same charge tightly together the charges repel one another strongly and the nucleus wants to (and does) fly apart. This is the driver for radioactivity. To enable the large atomic nuclei of the heavier elements to exist, you must space out the protons in the nucleus with neutral particles called neutrons. The presence of the neutrons and how many of them there are help stabilise atomic nuclei and slows down the rate of radioactive decay in certain configurations of packing.
How uranium nucleus become stable?
Being radioactive, uranium is not a stable element.
What would happen to an atom if the number of protons in the nucleus changed?
It would become a different element. It could become radioactive.
What makes a nucleus radioactive?
If you are referring to a cell's nucleus than the simple answer is that's not radioactive. Radioactivity occurs when elemental atoms become unstable due to the loss or gain of additional neutrons; these unstable atoms are referred to as radioactive isotopes. If a cell's nucleus were radioactive it would not last very long, its structure and function would quickly degrade and collapse.
Importance of radioactive decay?
it is used by scientist to to calculate a rock's age
Is an alpha particle radioactive?
An alpha particle itself is not radioactive, but it is the result of a type of radioactive decay called (obviously) alpha decay. The alpha particle is actually a helium-4 nucleus, and it will eventually pick up a pair of electrons and become an atom of that inert or noble gas.
Some atoms such as carbon-14 whose nuclei are not stable lose parts of their nucleus through decay -In the process they become another element -Atoms such as this are said to be?
Radioactive.
What does an atom have to do to become stable?
Physically - If radioactive the nucleus must go through 1 or more decay steps until it becomes a stable isotope.Chemically - Become unionized and have all electrons relax to ground state.
Uranium 238 change to lead 206 at the end of how many half lives?
Uranium-238, or more properly 92238U, is naturally radioactive. (It does not "become" radioactive.) Radioactivity of an isotope simply means that it has an unstable nucleus. It is unstable because the nucleus is large enough that the nuclear force (residual strong atomic force) that holds the nucleus together is offset by the competing electromagnetic force which makes protons repel each other. The reason for this offset is that the nuclear force declines with distance at a greater rate than the electromagnetic force. There are other reasons for radioactivity, such as isotopic variations in neutron to proton ratio, but the size of the nucleus is primary, for elements with atomic number greater than 82.
When does the nucleus of an atom become unstable?
The answer is: The strong nuclear force is not large enough to overcome the electric force for large nuclei. Hope I answered your question.=)
What is the reason for alpha decay process?
The reason for all types of radioactive decay is the instability of the nucleus, some unstable nuclei become stable by alpha emission and some by beta emission.
Elements whose atoms give off radiation are called?
Radioactive elements give off radiation. The emission of radiation occurs when an unstable atomic nucleus tries to become stable. Some examples of radioactive elements are radium, curium, nobelium, rubidium, and polonium.
