Question 30.3: Radium decay In this example we will apply the concept of ma...
Radium decay
In this example we will apply the concept of mass defect to a radioactive decay. For the decay to be possible, the mass of the original nucleus must be greater than the sum of the masses of the decay products. For example, suppose you are given these atomic masses:
{}_{88}^{226}Ra : 226.025410 u,
{}_{86}^{222}Rn : 222.017578 u,
{}_{2}^4He : 4.002603 u.
Let’s show that a emission is energetically possible for radium, and then determine the kinetic energy of the emitted a particle.
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