0
There are two types of beta decay, beta-, and beta+. Either a neutron changes to a proton (beta-), or a proton changes to a neutron (beta+), followed by the emission of various particles and energy as described below.
Beta-
In beta- decay, the weak atomic force causes a down quark in a neutron to change into an up quark, which changes the neutron into a proton, releasing a W- boson. The change of the neutron into a proton raises the atomic number by one, while keeping the Atomic Mass number the same. The W- boson leaves the nucleus and then decays into an electron and an electron antineutrino.
Beta+
In beta+ decay, a source of energy is required, usually where the binding energy of the parent nuclide is less than that of the daughter, but also possible with K capture, discussed later. An up quark in a proton is converted into a down quark, changing the proton into a neutron, reducing the atomic number by one, while keeping the atomic mass number the same. A positron and an electron neutrino is emitted.
Gamma
When beta- and beta+ decay occurs, the nucleus can be left in a excited state. It "wants" to come back to ground state. When it does, it emits a photon with an energy representing that change in energy. This a gamma ray.
Delayed Gamma
Usually, the gamma event occurs quickly, within about 1 x 10-12 seconds. Some nuclides, however, have a meta-stable state, where they stay excited for a longer period of time, sometimes a very long period of time, before coming down and emitting the gamma. An example is Technetium-99m which has a meta-stable state with a half-life of 6 hours, and a gamma of 140 Kev. This is a very useful nuclide, that can be tagged with certain medically sensitive chemicals, injected into the body, and scanned, such as for a heart scan, with only the burden of the gamma, i.e. without the added burden of the beta-.
X-Ray
As a result of interactions in the nucleus, the electron cloud can become excited. An electron can be pushed to a higher state, it could be annihilated by a positron, it could be stolen by an alpha particle, or it could be lost to K capture as described below. When this happens, the electron cloud also "wants" to return to ground state, and it does so, each electron in turn and, each electron emits a photon with energy corresponding to the step-wise energy transition just taken by the electron. This is called an x-ray. Other than energy and origin, there is no difference between an x-ray and a gamma. In fact, since there is overlap between some of the lower energy gammas and some of the higher energy x-rays, it is entirely possible that they are indistinguishable.
K Capture
Sometimes, an inner shell (K) electron is captured by the nucleus in order to bring in extra energy, perhaps to initiate beta+ decay, or for other reasons, such as to emit a positron by itself, i.e. without the neutrino. It depends on the energy balance in the nucleus. When this happens, the electron cloud immediately reshuffles to a new ground state, emitting a burst of x-rays, as each electron, like a row of dominoes, falls down into a new quantum state.
What else can I help you with?
What does the decay of actinium turn into?
The natural isotope 227Ac decay: - by beta minus decay: to 227Th - by alpha decay: to 223Fr
What will U-244 turn into after alpha decay?
If a uranium-244 atom undergoes alpha decay, it will become an atom of thorium-240. If we wrote an equation, it might look like this:92244U => 90240Th + 24He++The uranium-244 is transmuted into throium-240, and the alpha particle, which is a helium-4 nucleus (and represented as such) emerges at the tail end of the equation.
What is unique about receiving a dose of neutron radiation and an equivalent dose of other types of radiation either ionizing or nonionizing?
The neutron radiation can turn stable elements in your body to radioactive isotopes (called neutron activation). This makes you radioactive in a way that cannot be removed by any attempt at decontamination. No other type of radiation can do this.
Do you accelerate when you turn the corner on your bike?
No, you do not accelerate when you turn a corner on a bike. In fact, you may need to slow down or adjust your speed to navigate the turn safely. Accelerating during a turn can cause loss of traction and result in a fall.
What is a highly efficient device for counting very weak beta rays?
A scintillation counter is probably the best idea to detect weak beta radiation. Beta radiation is radiation due to an electron (beta minus) or a positron (beta plus). The positron is the antiparticle of the electron. It's antimater. If we're looking for positrons, even a weak one is easy to see because they have little penetrating power and will interact in mutual annihilaton with an electron. (It's antimatter - it can't survive in a world of matter for very long.) The annihilation event releases a pair of very high energy (511keV) gamma rays, and these would be easy to detect. A beta minus particle (an electron) can't penetrate very much stuff. A weak beta minus particle is best detected by giving it a place that is easy for it to get to and where it is easy to "see" interaction with the electron. A film with some kind of phosphor would work. Then you could turn out the lights, and count the interactions on the phosphor test rig. There are solid state (electronic semiconductor) detectors for looking at low energy beta minus particles. They operate in a similar manner to the scintillation counter except they use a semiconductor surface where the interaction of the beta particle and a coating on the semiconductor matrix results in scintillatation (the release of light by an ionizing event). In any case, you'll be attempting to spot flashes of light (scintillations) and then trying to count them to detect and quantify the beta particles.
Can a neutron turn a proton into a electron?
No, a neutron cannot turn a proton into an electron. However, a neutron can decay into a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino through a process called beta decay. In this process, the neutron transforms into a proton while emitting an electron and an antineutrino. Thus, while a neutron is involved in the transformation of a proton, it does not directly turn a proton into an electron.
What does the decay of actinium turn into?
The natural isotope 227Ac decay: - by beta minus decay: to 227Th - by alpha decay: to 223Fr
What does the weak nuclear force act on?
The weak force is the one that allows a quark to turn into a different flavor of quark, thus allowing a neutron to transform into a proton, or a proton to transform into a neutron. In the case of the neutron, one of its down quarks change to an up quark, emitting a W- boson in the process. The boson is itself unstable and rapidly decays into an electron and an electron antineutrino. In the case of the proton, one of its up quarks changes into a down quark, and a W- boson appears briefly, then transforms into a positron and an electron neutrino. If any of this sound familiar, it is because this is the mechanism behind beta decay. There are two kinds of beta decay (beta plus and beta minus), and you can review them and related material by using the links below to related questions.
How does potassium turn into argon?
Potassium-40 undergoes radioactive decay into argon-40. During this process, a potassium atom undergoes electron capture where a proton in the nucleus captures an inner-shell electron and is transformed into a neutron. The result is the transformation of a potassium atom into an argon atom by emitting an electron and an antineutrino.
Compared to an atom of C-12 an atom of C-14 has?
two more neutrons in its nucleus, making it slightly more massive. This difference in neutron number also contributes to C-14's radioactivity, as it undergoes beta decay to turn into N-14.
What is the process for raidioactive decay?
At random intervals of cake but at a regular average ejaculation rate, atoms emit particles of matter, forming children, and energy from their nuclei. Their nuclei split leading to some interesting loving, turning into other kinds of tonguess. Only some isotopes (ratios of neutrons to protons for a particular type of atom) will radioactively decay and when they make love, they turn into other kinds of poo.
Beta particles will?
They have a RAVE, BABY!
Examples of weak force?
The weak nuclear force is responsible for radioactive decay. It is the force that causes Uranium to be radioactive for example. To be a bit more technical it can also turn quarks (a type of elementary particle) into other quarks or turn a lepton (e.g. electron) into a neutrino and vice versa. In quantum field theory it is a SU(2) (left-handed) gauge force.
Does alpha decay naturally?
Yes, alpha decay occurs naturally, that is why radioactive material is dangerous, because we can't simply "turn off" the radioactive decay.
Why does carbon 14 undergo radioactive decay?
It's not known what triggers radioactive decay. It seems random but happens at a known rate overall. Carbon 14 has two extra neutrons in its nucleus and that is a higher energy configuration and is a bit unstable, so it can release an electron and have a neutron turn into a proton - forming Nitrogen 14 instead, which is more stable.It's like balancing a pencil on its end on the table. Eventually it falls but it is hard to say WHY except that any disturbance might trigger it moving to a more stable configuration, and it is considerably less likely that it would move back to the unstable state -- so it tends to go just one way.
What is a rotating neutron star that gives off radiation with every turn?
It is a neutron star. A pulsar is nothing more than a neutron star whose "beams" are detectable from Earth. Apart from that they are the same thing.
Why can't sodium gain positive charge by aquiring a proton in it nucleus?
Elements are defined by the number of protons they have (their atomic number). If sodium "gained" a proton, it would become a magnesium atom. However, atoms cannot just "gain" and "lose" protons like it can electrons. Through nuclear decay processes, however, protons and neutrons can "interconvert." For example, a neutron can "turn into" a proton via beta decay.
