Radioactive Decay Flashcards
1
Q
What are alpha particles
A
Helium nuclei
2
Q
What are beta particles
A
Electrons
3
Q
What properties do beta particles have
A
Move quite fast and are quite small.
They penetrate moderately before colliding and are moderately ionising too
4
Q
What happens for every beta particle emmited
A
A neutron turns to a proton in the nucleus
5
Q
What are gamma rays
A
Very short wavelength EM waves
They are photons with no mass and no charge
6
Q
What properties do gamma rays have
A
Very fast and light
They penetrate a long way into materials without being stopped, this makes makes them weakly ionising
7
Q
What is nuclear fission
A
The splitting up of big atomic nuclei
8
Q
What is nuclear fusion
A
The joining of small atomic nuclei
9
Q
What properties do alpha particles have
A
Big and heavy and slow moving Therefore they don't penetrate very far into materials but are stopped quickly Strongly ionising( bash into a lot of atoms and knock electrons off)
