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Setting aside spontaneous fission, which is the natural "splitting" of an atom into fissin fragments, it is alpha decay that results in the greatest change in atomic number. The alpha particle carries off a helium-4 nucleus, which is a pair of protons and a pair of neutrons. Atomic number of an element involved in an alpha decay goes down by two.

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What type of radiation results in the least change in atomic number?

A gamma ray is released from atomic nuclei under certain conditions, and the generation of a gamma ray photon alonewill not change the mass of an atomic nucleus. The gamma ray is a form of electromagnetic energy. Other forms of radiation released from nuclei are particulate, and the particles released take mass from the nucleus with them when they go. Beta radiation takes a little, and alpha radiation takes a lot more.


What makes something radioactive and how does it affect its properties?

Radioactivity is caused by unstable atomic nuclei that release energy in the form of radiation. This radiation can change the properties of the material, such as its stability and chemical reactivity. The emitted radiation can also be harmful to living organisms and can cause damage to cells and DNA.


How does thermal radiation change as a body emitting it changes temperature?

As a body's temperature increases, its thermal radiation also increases. This is because thermal radiation is directly proportional to the fourth power of temperature according to the Stefan-Boltzmann law. This means that a small increase in temperature results in a significant increase in the amount of thermal radiation emitted.


What is the change in atomic number when atom emits gamma radiation?

When a beta particle is emitted from a nucleus via Beta- decay, the mass number stays the same, and the atomic number goes up one, because one neutron is changed into one proton by Beta- decay.In Beta+ decay, the opposite is true. A proton is converted into a neutron, again keeping the mass number the same, but in this case reducing the atomic number by one.The ending result is different, however. In Beta-, the beta particle is an electron, while in Beta+, the beta particle is a positron.


The process of positron emission results in a change to the atomic nucleus. Is that change a decrease of 1 or a decrease of 2 or an increase of 1 or is there no change?

In positron emission, atomic number decreases by one. That's because a proton in the nucleus of the element that is about to undergo positron emission changes into a neutron. This is beta plus decay, by the way. You'll recall that the atomic number of an element, which is that element's chemical identity, is determined solely by the number of protons in the nucleus. If we "lose" a proton because it changes into a neutron, atomic number will now decrease by one. Check out the links below to related posts.

Related Questions

What is the change in the atomic number when an atom emits gamma radiation?

The atomic number does not change when gamma radiation is emitted.


Which type of radiation alpha beta or gamma results in the greatest change in mass number?

alpha - 2 neutrons and 2 protons released or neutron collision with a fissionable nucleus resulting in the fissioning of the atom into two fission fragments and more neutrons creating two atoms each a little less than half the atomic mass of the original atom


What type of radiation results in the least change in atomic number?

A gamma ray is released from atomic nuclei under certain conditions, and the generation of a gamma ray photon alonewill not change the mass of an atomic nucleus. The gamma ray is a form of electromagnetic energy. Other forms of radiation released from nuclei are particulate, and the particles released take mass from the nucleus with them when they go. Beta radiation takes a little, and alpha radiation takes a lot more.


How are the atomic number and mass number of a nuclide affected by the emisson of gramma radiation?

Any change of the atomic number.


What change in atomic mass when an atom emits gamma radiation?

It remains the same.


How is the atomic number changed by gamma decay?

There is no change in atomic number with the emission of gamma radiation. Unlike alpha or beta radiation, it does not have any kind of particles. It's emission results only when an excited nuclei goes to an unexcited state by emitting these.


What happens to the atomic number when an isotope releases gamma radiation?

It depends on what caused the gamma event in the first place.Strictly speaking, gamma radiation is caused by the de-excitation of the nucleus, so the atomic number (and Atomic Mass) does not change during a gamma event.However, the gamma event is usually precipitated by some other event, such as a beta or alpha decay that does change the configuration of the nucleus. An alpha event reduces the atomic number by 2 (and reduces the atomic mass by 4), while the beta event increases the atomic number by 1 (and does not change the atomic mass very much).Its actually more complex than that, but the answer to the original question is that nothing really happens to the atomic number during a gamma event.


Can computers cause cancer?

Computers produces radiation which can change our blood cells which results in cancer


What is the meaning of chemial chage?

A rearrangement of the atomic array of matter which results in a change of physical properties.


Why does alpha radiation produce the greatest change in mass number?

Alpha radiation involves the ejection of a helium nucleus, which has a mass number of 4. This results in the largest change in mass number compared to beta and gamma radiation, which involve the emission of electrons or photons with much smaller masses.


What type of nuclear decay results in the atomic number increasing by one with no change in mass?

Beta- decay result in an increase of atomic number by one, with no resulting change in the atomic mass number.There is a change in mass, since an electron and an electron anti-neutrino is emitted, and also because the neutron changes into a proton, but the atomic mass number, per se, does not change.


How did Niels Bohr change the atomic model based on his experimental results?

He placed electrons in orbits around the nucleus.