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A radioactive isotope, also known as a radioisotope, radionuclide, or radioactive nuclide, is any of several species of the same chemical element with different masses whose nuclei are unstable and dissipate excess energy by spontaneously emitting radiation in the form of alpha, beta, and gamma rays. Every chemical element has one or more ...
May 9, 2024 · Radioactivity, property exhibited by certain types of matter of emitting energy and subatomic particles spontaneously. It is, in essence, an attribute of individual atomic nuclei. Radioactive decay is a property of several naturally occurring elements as well as of artificially produced isotopes of the elements.
There are 28 naturally occurring chemical elements on Earth that are radioactive, consisting of 35 radionuclides (seven elements have two different radionuclides) that date before the time of formation of the Solar System. These 35 are known as primordial radionuclides.
Radioactive nuclei are nuclei that are unstable and that decay by emitting energetic particles such as photons, electrons, neutrinos, protons, neutrons, or alphas (two protons and two neutrons bound together). Some of these particles are known as ionizing particles. These are particles with enough energy to knock electrons off atoms or molecules.
Jul 30, 2020 · Radioisotopes are the unstable form of an element that emit radiation to transform into a more stable form. Radiation is easily traceable and can cause changes in the substance it falls upon. These special attributes make radioisotopes useful in medicine, industry and other areas.
Jan 10, 2023 · Physics. Explainer: Radiation and radioactive decay. Some radioactive elements shed parts of themselves as they attempt to become nonradioactive. The watery core of a nuclear reactor is shown here during refueling. The blue glow comes from Cherenkov radiation.
About. Transcript. During radioactive decay, an unstable nucleus (the "parent") spontaneously changes to become a different nucleus (the "daughter"), emitting radiation in the process. The nuclear radiation emitted during radioactive decay is high energy, ionizing radiation.
