Does the nucleus mass or atomic number change during gamma ray decay?

Answer 1

The emission of a gamma ray changes neither the mass number nor the atomic number of a nucleus. An example of an equation for gamma emission is:

99mTc --> 99Tc + gamma

The "m" associated with the mass number indicates a metastable nuclear isomer.

Answer 2

No, during gamma ray decay, the nucleus does not experience a change in mass or atomic number. Gamma decay only involves the release of high-energy electromagnetic radiation (gamma rays) without affecting the composition of the nucleus.

Answer 3

Any excited atomic nucleus can emit a gamma ray. The gamma ray is a quantum of electromagnetic energy, and it really does nothing to the atomic number or the mass number of the atom. A gamma ray can also be emitted when an atomic nucleus decays, and it will appear with another particle or particles in a number of different decay schemes. These decay modes include spontaneous fission, beta decay and alpha decay. As regards a nucleus emitting an electron or positron, these are the two forms of what is called beta decay. A question (with a pretty good answer) can be found by using the link below to the related question, "What is beta decay?"

Answer 4

The charge doesn't change as a result of emitting a photon (which is what a gamma ray is). The mass does change by a small amount (due to the energy-mass equivalence relationship; a photon has no rest mass, but does have energy), but not by enough to make any real difference in the mass number.

Answer 5

Gamma ray (photon) emission represents a reduction in the excitation level of the nucleus, so the emission of gamma rays would cause (actually, its the other way around) a reduction in excitation level of the nucleus.

Answer 6

Gamma radiation changes the Atomic Mass of a nucleus only very slightly. Divide the energy shift by the speed of light squared, 9 x 1018 m s-1, and you get mass shift. This is Einstein's equation, e = mc2, or, in this case, m = e / c2.

Note that the mass shift is inconsequential in comparison with the mass of a proton, for instance. This is because gamma radiation is not directly related to an alpha or beta decay process - it is a side effect - but it is not the direct result.

Answer 7

Mass number does not change with gamma ray emmision

Answer 8

Gamma rays have no charge or mass. It is just light energy traveling through space. Therefore not changing the mass or charge.

Answer 9

When the nucleus of an atom emits a gamma ray, the mass and charge of the nucleus, and therefore of the atom, remain unchanged. This is because a gamma ray has neither charge nor mass.

Answer 10

No