GEOL 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Beta Particle, Atomic Number, Outer Core

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28 Jul 2016
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Radioactivity: the process by which atomic nuclei spontaneously break apart, or decay, radiometric dating. Alpha emission: emission of alpha particles (2 protons & 2 neutrons) and nucleus"s mass decreases by 4 and atomic number decreases by 2. Beta emission: emission of beta particle (electron) and atomic number increases by 1 and mass stays the same. Electron capture: electron comes in and hits a proton and changes it into a neutron. Atomic number decreases by 1 and mass stays the same: radioactive decay. Start out with parent who has an unstable nucleus. Process stops when you get to a stable nucleus. All the results of this process are called daughter products : measure of half-life. When you start out with the unstable parent isotope, and you just watch them decay and keep counting how many daughters they have had. When half of the atoms have gone from parent to daughter, that is one half-life.

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