RADIOACTIVE DECAY

Radioactive decay also known as nuclear decay or radioactivity. It is the process by which
a nucleus an unstable atom loses energy by emitting ionizing radiation. A material that
spontaneously emits this kind of radiation which includes the emission of alpha particles, beta
particles, gamma rays and conversion electrons is considered radioactive.
Radioactive decay is a stochastic (i.e. random) process at the level of single atoms, in that,
according to quantum theory, it is impossible to predict when a particular atom will
decay. However, the chance that a given atom will decay never changes, that is, it does not
matter how long the atom has existed. For a large number of atoms however, the decay rate for
the collection can be calculated from the measured decay constants, and the half-lives of the
nuclides calculated. These numbers have no known limits for shortness or length of duration,
and range over 55 orders of magnitude in time.
There are many types of radioactive decay. A decay, or loss of energy, results when an atom
with one type of nucleus, called the parent radionuclide (or parent radioisotope) transforms into
an atom with a nucleus in a different state, or with a nucleus containing a different number
of protons and neutrons. The product is called the daughter nuclide. In some decays, the parent
and the daughter nuclides are different chemical elements, and thus the decay process results
in the creation of an atom of a different element. This is known as a nuclear transmutation.
An atom of a radioactive isotope will spontaneously decay into another element throught one of
three common processes:
1. Alpha decay
2. Beta decay
3. Spontaneous fission
In the process, four different kinds of radioactine rays are produce:
1. Alpha rays
2. Beta rays
3. Gamma rays

4. Neutron rays

In the process of alpha decay, it occurs when the nucleus ejects an alpha particle (helium
nucleus). This is the most common process of emitting nucleons, but in rarer types of decays,
nuclei can eject protons, or specific nuclei of other elements in a process called cluster decay.
Americium-241, a radioactive element best known for its use in smoke detector, is a good
example of an element that undergoes alpha decay. An americium-241 atom will spontaneously
throw off an alpha particle. An alpha particle is made up of two protons and two neutron bound
together, which is the equivalent of a helium- nucleus. In the process of emitting the alpha
particle,the americium-241 atom becomes a neptunium-237 atom.
In the process of beta decay, it occurs when the nucleus emits an electron or positron and
a neutrino, in a process that changes a proton to a neutron or the other way about. The nucleus may
capture an orbiting electron, causing a proton to convert into a neutron in a process called electron
capture. All of these processes result in a nuclear transmutation.
Tritium is a good example of an element that undergoes beta decay. A neutron in the nucleus
spontaneously turns into a proton, an electron, and a third aprticle called an antineutrino. The eject
electron is referred to as a beta particle. The nucleus loses one neutron and gain one proton.
Therefore, a hydrogen-3 atom becomes a helium-3 atom.

In spontaneous fission, an atom actually splits instead of throwing off an alpha or beta

particle. The word fission means splitting. A heavy atom undergoes spontaneous fission and
in the process, it becomes two atoms. For example, one fermium-256 atom may become a
xenon-140 and a palladium-112 atom, and in the process it will eject four neutrons known as
prompt neutron. These neutrons can be absorbed by other atoms and cause nuclear reactions
such as decay or fission or they can collide with other atoms and cause gamma rays to be
emitted.
In many cases, a nucleus that has undergoes alpha particle decay, beta decay or spontaneous
fission will be highly energetic and therefore unstable. It will eliminate its extra energy as an
electromagnetic pulse known as a gamma ray. Gamma rays are like X-rays in that they
penetrate matter, but they are more energetic than X-rays. Gamma rays are made of energy,
not moving particles like alpha and beta particle.

FISSION REACTION
In nuclear physics, nuclear fission is either a nuclear reaction or a radioactive
decay process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts (lighter
nuclei). The fission process often produces free neutrons and photons (in the form of
gamma rays), and release a very large amount of energy even by the energetic
standards of radioactive decay.
Fission is a form of nuclear transmutation because the resulting fragments
are not the same element as the original atom. Most fission are binary fissions
(producing two charged fragments), but occasionally three positively charged
fragment are produced, in a ternary fission.
In engineered nuclear device, essentially all nuclear fission occurs as a
nuclear reaction- a bombardment driven process that results from the collision of
two subatomics particle. In nuclear reaction, a subatomic particle collides with an
atomic nucleus and causes changes to it. Nuclear reactions are thus driven by the
mechanism of bombardment, not by the relatively constant exponential decay and
half-life characteristics of spontaneous radioactive processes.
Nuclear fission differs importantly from other types of nuclear reactions, in
that it can be amplified and sometimes controlled via a nuclear chain fission. In
such a reaction, free neutrons released by each fission event can trigger yet more
events, which in turn release more neutron and cause more fissions. The chemical
element isotopes that can sustain a fission chain reaction are called nuclear fuels
and are said to be fissile. The most common nuclear fuels are (the isotope of
uranium with an atomic mass of 235 and of use in nuclear reactors) and the
(isotope of plutonium with an atomic mass of 239). These fuels break apart into
bimodal range of chemical elements with atomic masses centering near 95 and 135
u (fission product). Most nuclear fuel undergoes spontaneous fission only very
slowly, decaying instea mainly via an alpha/beta decay chain over periods of
millennia to eons. In nuclear reactor or nuclear weapon, the overwhelming majority
of fission events are induced by bombardment with another particle, a neutron,
which is itself produced by prior fission events.

Nuclear fissions in fissile fuels are the result of the nuclear excitation energy
produced when a fissile nucleus captures a neutron. This energy, resulting from the
neutron capture, is a result of the attractive nuclear force acting between the
neutron and nucleus. It is enough to deform the nucleus into a double-lobed drop,
to the point that nuclear fragments exceed the distances at which the nuclear force
can hold two groups of charged nucleons together, and when this happens, two
freagments complete their separation and then are driven further apart by their
mutually repulsive charges, in a process which becomes irreversible with greater
and greater distance. A similar process occurs in fissionable isotopes.(such as
uranium-238), but in order to fission, these isotopes require additional energy
provided by fast neutrons (such as those produced by nuclear fusion
inthermonuclear weapons).

FUSION REACTION
Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei collide
at a very high speed and join to form a new type of atomic nucleus. During this
process matter is not conserved because some of the matter of the fusing nuclei is
converted to photons (energy). Fusion is the process that powers active or main
sequence stars.
The origin of the energy released in fusion of light elements is due to
interplay of two opposing forces, the nuclear force which combine together protons
and neutrons, and the Coulomb force which causes protons to repel each other. The
protons are positively charged and repel each other but they nonetheless stick
together, demonstrating the existence of another force referred to as nuclear
attraction. This force called the strong nuclear force, overcome electric repulsion in
a very close range. The effect of this force is not observed outside the nucleus,
hence the force has a strong dependence on distance, making it a short range force.
The same force also pulls the nucleons together, or neutrons and protons together.
Because the nuclear force is stronger than the Coulomb force for atomic nuclei
smaller than iron and nickel, building up these nuclei from lighter nuclei by fusion
release he extra energy from the net attraction of these particles. For larger nuclei,
however, no energy is released, since the nuclear force is short range and cannot
continue to act across still larger atomic nuclei. Thus, energy is no longer released
when such nuclei are made by fusion; instead, energy is absorbed in such
processes.
Fusion reactions of light elements power the stars and produce virtually all
elements I a process called nucleosynthesis. The fusion of lighter elements in star
release energy ( and the mass that always accompanies it). For example, in the
fusion of two hydrogen nuclei to form helium, 0.7% o the mass is carried away from

the system in the form of kinetic energy or other forms of energy ( such as
electromagnetic radiation)
Energy released in most nuclear reaction is much larger than in chemical
reactions, because the binding energy that holds a nucleus together is far greater
than the energy that holds electrons to a nucleus. Fusion reactions have an energy
density many times greater than nuclear fission, the reactions produce far greater
energy per unit of mass even though individual fission reactions are generally much
more energetic than individual fusion ones, which are themselves millions of times
more energetic than chemical reactions. Only direct conversion of mass into energy,
such as tahatt caused by the annihilatory collision of matter and antimatter, is more
energetic per unit of mass than nuclear fusion.