Radioactivity Part 2 Flashcards
is a sequence of unstable atomic nuclei and their modes of decays, which leads to a stable nucleus
Radioactive decay
Sources of these unstable nuclei are different, it deal with naturally occurring radioactive decay chains known as_______
Radioactive series
In nuclear decays, the disintegrating nucleus is usually referred to as the parent nucleus and the nucleus remaining after the event as the daughter nucleus
Decay Chain - Connor, 2019
is when the decay rate of a radioactive isotope equals the production rate of that isotope by another source (Bergstresser, 2020)
Radioactive Equilibrium
This type of relation between parent and daughter activity occurs when the half-life of the parent nuclide is infinitely larger than that of the daughter nuclide
Secular Equilibrium
In this case, the half-life of the parent nuclide is still larger than that of the daughter nuclide but not infinitely
Transient Equilibrium
are consists of 2 protons and 2 neutrons
It occurs when the nucleus is too large
Alpha Decay
occurs when the neutron to proton ratio is too great in the nucleus and causes instability. Many radioactive nuclides decay by β-emission.
Beta Decay
is a particle with the same mass as an electron but with a positive charge (antimatter version of an electron)
Positron Decay
where a proton is converted into a neutron, a positron, and an electron-type neutrino
Positron Decay
The nucleus captures one of its own K shell orbital electrons, a proton transforms into a neutron and a neutrino is ejected.
Electron Capture
• The resulting K shell vacancy is filled with a higher level orbital electron and the transition energy is emitted from the atom in the form of characteristic photons
Electron Capture
It is also possible that the energy will hit another electron and eject it. The ejected electron is called _______, which was named after Pierre Victor Auger who was credited with the Auger Effect
Auger Electron
Is a process in which a nucleus with excess energy can get rid of that energy without altering its proton or neutron
count.
Internal Conversion
An excited nucleus generally produced through b
– or b+ decay attains its ground state through the emission of one or several gamma ray photons.
Gamma Ray Decay
Gamma decay occurs because the nucleus is at too high an energy. The nucleus falls down to a lower energy state and, in the process, emits a high-energy photon known as gamma rays.
Gamma Ray Decay
Nuclei of various elements can exist in a number of different
energy states higher than the ground state. When the excited state is relatively long-lived, the nucleus is referred to as being in a metastable state denoted with an “m”.
Isometric Transition
Transitions directly to the ground state can occur or otherwise
involve a number of steps with various intermediate excited states.
Isomeric Transition
• The excited states are unstable, and the nucleus can return to the ground state in a number of different ways.
Isomeric Transition
Protons and neutrons consist of fundamental particles called _______
Quark
Sources of these unstable nuclei are different, it deal with naturally occurring radioactive decay chains
Radioactive series
the half-life of the daughter nuclide is larger than that of the parent
No equilibrium
TRUE OR FALSE
Stable nuclides of the lighter elements have approximately equal numbers of protons and neutrons
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
A radio-nuclide above the stability line decays by β- emission.
TRUE
