CHEM 0970 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Beta Decay, Alpha Decay, Beta Particle
Document Summary
92 top number is mass number (a) = # protons + # neutrons. A = z + n bottom is atomic number (z) = # of protons. The sums of the subscripts and superscripts must equal, reactant/product. Some nuclei are stable some are constantly reacting in an attempt to become stable. They are constantly shedding tiny pieces of their nuclei in an attempt to become stable. When they become a stable isotope, they stop decaying. Equivalent to a high speed electron, but lost from the nucleus. Equivalent to a high speed electron, but with a. +1 positive charge, and lost from the nucleus. A: no single rule applies, but there are several observations about nuclear stability. If you plot all of the proton/neutron combinations that exist in stable isotopes . When proton numbers are low (<20 or so), so a 1:1 n/p ratio is stable.
