An unstable nucleus can decay by emitting an , a , a or in some cases a single neutron.

Alpha particle

If the nucleus has too few neutrons, it will emit a ‘package’ of two protons and two neutrons called an alpha particle.

An alpha particle is also a Helium-4 nucleus, so it is written as $$_{2}^{4}\textrm{He}$$ and is also sometimes written as $$_{2}^{4}\alpha$$.

Alpha decay causes the of the nucleus to decrease by four and the of the nucleus to decrease by two.

Beta particle

If the nucleus has too many neutrons, a neutron will turn into a proton and emit a fast-moving . This electron is called a beta (β) particle - this process is known as .

A beta particle has a relative mass of zero, so its mass number is zero, and as the beta particle is an electron, it can be written as $$_{-1}^{~0}\textrm{e}$$. However sometimes it is also written as $$_{-1}^{~0}\beta$$.

The beta particle is an electron but it has come from the nucleus, not the outside of the atom.

Electrons are not normally expected to be found in the nucleus but neutrons can split into a positive proton (same mass but positive charge). An electron (which has a negative charge to balance the positive charge) is then ejected at high speed and carries away a lot of energy.

Beta decay causes the atomic number of the nucleus to increase by one and the mass number remains the same.

Gamma ray

After emitting an alpha or beta particle, the nucleus will often still be too ‘hot’ and will lose energy in a similar way to how a hot gas cools down. A hot gas cools by emitting which is an .

High energy particles will emit energy as they drop to lower . Since energy levels in the nucleus are much higher than those in the gas, the nucleus will cool down by emitting a more energetic electromagnetic wave called a gamma ray.

Gamma ray emission causes no change in the number of particles in the nucleus meaning both the atomic number and mass number remain the same.

Neutron emission

Occasionally it is possible for a neutron to be emitted by . This can occur naturally, ie absorption of cosmic rays high up in the atmosphere can result in neutron emission, although this is rare at the Earth’s surface. Or it can occur artificially, ie the work done by James Chadwick firing alpha particles at Beryllium resulted in neutrons being emitted from that.

A further example of neutron emission is in nuclear fission reactions, where neutrons are released from the parent nucleus as it splits.

Neutron emission causes the mass number of the nucleus to decrease by one and the atomic number remains the same.