What is the definition of beta decay in chemistry?
What is the definition of beta decay in chemistry?
beta decay, any of three processes of radioactive disintegration by which some unstable atomic nuclei spontaneously dissipate excess energy and undergo a change of one unit of positive charge without any change in mass number.
What is beta decay in simple terms?
Definition of beta decay : a radioactive nuclear transformation governed by the weak force in which a nucleon (such as a neutron) changes into a nucleon (such as a proton) of the other type with the emission of either an electron and an antineutrino or a positron and a neutrino.
What is beta decay quizlet?
beta decay. A nuclear reaction in which an atom loses an electron (aka positron). This increases the atomic number by 1 and the mass stays the same.
What is beta decay class 12?
Beta decay is a radioactive decay in which a beta ray is emitted from an atomic nucleus. During beta decay, the proton in the nucleus is transformed into a neutron and vice versa. If a proton is converted to neutron, it is known as β+ decay.
What is gamma decay simple definition?
gamma decay, type of radioactivity in which some unstable atomic nuclei dissipate excess energy by a spontaneous electromagnetic process. In the most common form of gamma decay, known as gamma emission, gamma rays (photons, or packets of electromagnetic energy, of extremely short wavelength) are radiated.
What is beta decay in nuclear physics?
Beta decay occurs when, in a nucleus with too many protons or too many neutrons, one of the protons or neutrons is transformed into the other. In beta minus decay, a neutron decays into a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino: n Æ p + e – +.
What is beta radiation quizlet?
Beta Radiation. Negatively charged electron that is ejected from the nucleus. these are fast moving electrons. Beta Radiation. Typically high radiation, but lower energies than alpha particles.
What is meant by alpha decay?
Alpha decay is the nuclear decay process whereby the parent nucleus emits an alpha particle. The alpha particle, structurally equivalent to the nucleus of a helium atom and denoted by the Greek letter α, consists of two protons and two neutrons.