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The contents of the Szilard–Chalmers effect page were merged into Radioactive decay on 3 October 2016. For the contribution history and old versions of the redirected page, please see its history; for the discussion at that location, see its talk page. |
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Hi i was just wondering why it isnt explicitly pointed out that for an atom to be considered radioactivelly decaying it would have to be emitting ionizing radiation. Without ionizing explicitly being stated, emittance of infrared radiation could also be considered radioactive decay, no? "Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation" it is not clear if in this sentence "unstable" is ment as a vague term, or in the physics sense of the atom containing more energy than its ground state. If the latter, once again, the absorption of lets say yellow light which results in for example the emittance of infrared radiation could be considered radioactive decay. I am in no way trying to be rude, i just ran into this problem while trying to understand the exact definition of radioactive decay. If i was wrong anywhere in my comment please do point it out.
Greetings,
Sander — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sander721 ( talk • contribs) 23:05, 5 February 2021 (UTC)
Hi everyone. I just wanted to ask about the table displaying the radioactive decay modes, since I'm currently working on the "Isotopes of" pages. While I was editing some of the pages, I found that NUBASE2020 [1] lists a couple of decay modes that are not mentioned in the table. Furthermore, there is some notation that I'm not really sure how to go about adding it to the decay modes:
(note: "α" is used in the paper (PDF page 19) as an example)
"α ? means that the α-decay mode is energetically allowed, but not experimentally observed
α=? means that the α-decay is observed, but its intensity is not experimentally known"
Thanks! :)
– MeasureWell ( talk) 01:44, 2 February 2022 (UTC)
what happens in real life connections to these elements? 2A02:6D40:3405:7201:C4D:F8BE:4256:6032 ( talk) 17:07, 25 February 2022 (UTC)
MeasureWell asked me to update the table § List of decay modes, into NUBASE 2020 status.
Trying to get this right, especially to cover the ~118 Big Tables § List of isotopes. My outline:
α ?
, α=?
. How should this appear in the table?|notes=CD, EC, IT, SF, n, p
, see example
Isotopes of helium § List of isotopes. Both as editors input, and in default-text footnotes.The table now has all curent and previous DMs. The physics, wikilinks, text need a check. Also, some merge or additions could be needed.
|dm=b+2n
; future use)sort | code | 2020 change | enwiki diff | Mode | Name (wl) | Action | AZ | note (dev) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 | alpha
|
α | Alpha emission | An alpha particle (A = 4, Z = 2) emitted from nucleus | (A − 4, Z − 2) | ||||
20 | p
|
p | Proton emission | A proton ejected from nucleus | (A − 1, Z − 1) | ||||
30 | 2p
|
2p |
Proton emission
2-proton emission
lbl:2-proton emission |
Two protons ejected from nucleus simultaneously | (A − 2, Z − 2) | ||||
40 | n
|
n | Neutron emission | A neutron ejected from nucleus | (A − 1, Z) | ||||
50 | 2n
|
2n |
Neutron emission
2-neutron emission
lbl:2-neutron emission |
Two neutrons ejected from nucleus simultaneously | (A − 2, Z) | ||||
60 | epsi
|
"EC" not in table; see 62 |
ε | Electron capture | A nucleus captures an orbiting electron and emits a neutrino; the daughter nucleus is left in an excited unstable state | (A, Z − 1) | |||
70 | e+
|
new |
e+ | Positron emission | A nuclear proton converts to a neutron by emitting a positron and an electron neutrino | (A, Z − 1) | |||
80 | b+
|
β+ | Positron emission | In NUBASE2020, β+ refers to the combined rate of electron capture (ε) and positron emission (e+): (β+ = ε + e+) | (A, Z − 1) | ||||
90 | b-
|
β− | β− decay | A nucleus emits an electron and an electron antineutrino | (A, Z + 1) | ||||
100 | 2b-
|
β−β− |
Double beta decay
Double β decay
lbl:Double β decay |
A nucleus emits two electrons and two antineutrinos | (A, Z + 2) | ||||
110 | 2b+
|
in enwiki noted as β+β+ |
β+β+ | Double β decay | A nucleus emits two positrons and two neutrinos | (A, Z − 2) | |||
120 | b-n
|
new for enwiki |
β−n | β−-delayed neutron emission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then emits a neutron | (A − 1, Z + 1) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
130 | b-2n
|
new for enwiki |
β−2n | β−-delayed 2-neutron emission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then emits two neutrons | (A − 2, Z + 1) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
140 | b-3n
|
new in 2020 |
β−3n | β−-delayed 3-neutron emission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then emits three neutrons | (A − 3, Z + 1) | |||
150 | b+p
|
new for enwiki |
β+p | β+-delayed proton emission | A nucleus decays by β+ emission to an excited state, which then emits a proton | (A − 1, Z − 2) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
160 | b+2p
|
new for enwiki |
β+2p | β+-delayed 2-proton emission | A nucleus decays by β+ emission to an excited state, which then emits two protons | (A − 2, Z − 3) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
170 | b+3p
|
new in 2020 |
β+3p | β+-delayed 3-proton emission | A nucleus decays by β+ emission to an excited state, which then emits three protons | (A − 3, Z − 4) | |||
180 | b-a
|
new for enwiki |
β−α | β−-delayed alpha emission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then emits an α particle | (A − 4, Z − 1) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
190 | b+a
|
new for enwiki |
β+α | β+-delayed alpha emission | A nucleus decays by β+ emission to an excited state, which then emits an α particle | (A − 4, Z − 3) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
200 | b-d
|
new for enwiki |
β−d | β−-delayed deuteron emission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then emits a deuteron | (A − 2, Z) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
210 | b-t
|
new in 2020 |
β−t | β−-delayed triton emission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then emits a triton | (A − 3, Z) | |||
262 | CD
|
not in 2020; same as 260? |
CD | Cluster decay | A nucleus emits a specific type of smaller nucleus (A1, Z1) which is larger than an alpha particle | (A − A1, Z − Z1) & (A1, Z1) | |||
305 | IT
|
IT |
Nuclear isomer § Decay processes lbl:Internal (isomeric) transition
Internal (isomeric) transition
|
A nucleus in a metastable state drops to a lower energy state by emitting a photon or ejecting an electron. | (A, Z) | ||||
310 | SF
|
SF | Spontaneous fission | A nucleus disintegrates into two or more smaller nuclei and other particles, all of which may vary with each decay | variable | ||||
320 | b+SF
|
β+SF | β+-delayed fission | A nucleus decays by β+ emission to an excited state, which then undergoes spontaneous fission | β+ & variable | ||||
330 | b-SF
|
β−SF | β−-delayed fission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then undergoes spontaneous fission | β− & variable | ||||
900 | Not in Table 2020 | ||||||||
260 | 24Ne
|
new in enwiki (same as CD, 262?) |
24Ne | Heavy cluster emission | (already in 2016 table) | [?] | neon-24? | ||
910 | epsiepsi
|
not in NB table |
Kr-78,
Fe-54 |
εε | Double electron capture | A nucleus absorbs two orbital electrons and emits two neutrinos – the daughter nucleus is left in an excited and unstable state | (A, Z − 2) | see 2β... | |
920 |
|
in table? |
[[
Beta decay § Bound-state β− decay]]
Bound-state beta decay
lbl:Bound-state beta decay |
A free neutron or nucleus beta decays to electron and antineutrino, but the electron is not emitted, as it is captured into an empty K-shell; the daughter nucleus is left in an excited and unstable state. This process is a minority of free neutron decays (0.0004%) due to the low energy of hydrogen ionization, and is suppressed except in ionized atoms that have K-shell vacancies. | (A, Z + 1) | ||||
930 |
|
in table? |
Electron capture with positron emission | A nucleus absorbs one orbital electron, emits one positron and two neutrinos | (A, Z − 2) | mode = "blank" | |||
940 |
|
in table? |
Internal conversion | Excited nucleus transfers energy to an orbital electron, which is subsequently ejected from the atom | (A, Z) | ||||
1 |
|
not in NB table |
[not a decay mode; added for completeness] | — | |||||
11 | beta
|
test |
β | β-test | [β added for testing only] | sole-β is not a mode | |||
62 | EC
|
not in NB table |
EC | Electron capture | Same as 60?, ε | (A, Z − 1) |
| ||
102 | 2b-
|
see 100 |
β−β− | Double beta decay | β− (old enwiki notation) | notation diff | |||
112 | 2b+
|
see 110 |
β+β+ | Double beta decay | 2β+ (old enwiki notation) | notation diff
| |||
3 | obsstable
|
not in NB table |
e.g.
Isotopes of mercury#Hg-198 |
observ. stable | observationally stable | [not a NB decay mode; added for completeness] | — | NOT in NUBASE2020 |
References
An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Radioactive materials and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 April 28#Radioactive material until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Oiyarbepsy ( talk) 05:12, 28 April 2022 (UTC)
@DePiep: Would it be possible to edit the line Cluster decay in your table? Normally I would do it myself, but I cannot find the source code to modify. Suggested changes: 1. Mode column: Delete 24Ne because it is not the only possible cluster emitted. 2. Action column: Add at the end: Examples C-14 and Ne-24. (These are 2 of the most frequent examples as per the list in the article Cluster decay. Dirac66 ( talk) 16:02, 29 October 2023 (UTC)
@Double sharp: Yes, you have corrected the table as I asked. Thank you for the correction and also for pointing it out. I did not notice the change since because it does not appear in the revision history. Whatever method you used to correct the table is quite mysterious for someone used to standard Wikipedia edits, and if I now look at a revision before the date of the request above (29 Oct 2023) the system claims that this line was already as it is now, which is not true. I am glad you knew how to do it. Dirac66 ( talk) 22:58, 28 November 2023 (UTC)
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 12 February 2024 and 14 June 2024. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Alliemoreno ( article contribs). Peer reviewers: Samiam25.
— Assignment last updated by Ahlluhn ( talk) 00:57, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
The article claims, without a reference, that radioactive decay is analogous to an avalanche from a snowfield on a mountain. The entire paragraph mixes simple classical ideas with bogus quantum ones. It talks about entropy and "over a larger number of quantum states". The energy of decay is down hill even ignoring entropy as far as I know. That's one of its most interesting characteristics. Radioactive decay is exactly not like classical systems. Am I wrong here? Johnjbarton ( talk) 01:52, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
This
level-3 vital article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
The contents of the Szilard–Chalmers effect page were merged into Radioactive decay on 3 October 2016. For the contribution history and old versions of the redirected page, please see its history; for the discussion at that location, see its talk page. |
This page has archives. Sections older than 1000 days may be automatically archived by Lowercase sigmabot III when more than 3 sections are present. |
Hi i was just wondering why it isnt explicitly pointed out that for an atom to be considered radioactivelly decaying it would have to be emitting ionizing radiation. Without ionizing explicitly being stated, emittance of infrared radiation could also be considered radioactive decay, no? "Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation" it is not clear if in this sentence "unstable" is ment as a vague term, or in the physics sense of the atom containing more energy than its ground state. If the latter, once again, the absorption of lets say yellow light which results in for example the emittance of infrared radiation could be considered radioactive decay. I am in no way trying to be rude, i just ran into this problem while trying to understand the exact definition of radioactive decay. If i was wrong anywhere in my comment please do point it out.
Greetings,
Sander — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sander721 ( talk • contribs) 23:05, 5 February 2021 (UTC)
Hi everyone. I just wanted to ask about the table displaying the radioactive decay modes, since I'm currently working on the "Isotopes of" pages. While I was editing some of the pages, I found that NUBASE2020 [1] lists a couple of decay modes that are not mentioned in the table. Furthermore, there is some notation that I'm not really sure how to go about adding it to the decay modes:
(note: "α" is used in the paper (PDF page 19) as an example)
"α ? means that the α-decay mode is energetically allowed, but not experimentally observed
α=? means that the α-decay is observed, but its intensity is not experimentally known"
Thanks! :)
– MeasureWell ( talk) 01:44, 2 February 2022 (UTC)
what happens in real life connections to these elements? 2A02:6D40:3405:7201:C4D:F8BE:4256:6032 ( talk) 17:07, 25 February 2022 (UTC)
MeasureWell asked me to update the table § List of decay modes, into NUBASE 2020 status.
Trying to get this right, especially to cover the ~118 Big Tables § List of isotopes. My outline:
α ?
, α=?
. How should this appear in the table?|notes=CD, EC, IT, SF, n, p
, see example
Isotopes of helium § List of isotopes. Both as editors input, and in default-text footnotes.The table now has all curent and previous DMs. The physics, wikilinks, text need a check. Also, some merge or additions could be needed.
|dm=b+2n
; future use)sort | code | 2020 change | enwiki diff | Mode | Name (wl) | Action | AZ | note (dev) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 | alpha
|
α | Alpha emission | An alpha particle (A = 4, Z = 2) emitted from nucleus | (A − 4, Z − 2) | ||||
20 | p
|
p | Proton emission | A proton ejected from nucleus | (A − 1, Z − 1) | ||||
30 | 2p
|
2p |
Proton emission
2-proton emission
lbl:2-proton emission |
Two protons ejected from nucleus simultaneously | (A − 2, Z − 2) | ||||
40 | n
|
n | Neutron emission | A neutron ejected from nucleus | (A − 1, Z) | ||||
50 | 2n
|
2n |
Neutron emission
2-neutron emission
lbl:2-neutron emission |
Two neutrons ejected from nucleus simultaneously | (A − 2, Z) | ||||
60 | epsi
|
"EC" not in table; see 62 |
ε | Electron capture | A nucleus captures an orbiting electron and emits a neutrino; the daughter nucleus is left in an excited unstable state | (A, Z − 1) | |||
70 | e+
|
new |
e+ | Positron emission | A nuclear proton converts to a neutron by emitting a positron and an electron neutrino | (A, Z − 1) | |||
80 | b+
|
β+ | Positron emission | In NUBASE2020, β+ refers to the combined rate of electron capture (ε) and positron emission (e+): (β+ = ε + e+) | (A, Z − 1) | ||||
90 | b-
|
β− | β− decay | A nucleus emits an electron and an electron antineutrino | (A, Z + 1) | ||||
100 | 2b-
|
β−β− |
Double beta decay
Double β decay
lbl:Double β decay |
A nucleus emits two electrons and two antineutrinos | (A, Z + 2) | ||||
110 | 2b+
|
in enwiki noted as β+β+ |
β+β+ | Double β decay | A nucleus emits two positrons and two neutrinos | (A, Z − 2) | |||
120 | b-n
|
new for enwiki |
β−n | β−-delayed neutron emission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then emits a neutron | (A − 1, Z + 1) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
130 | b-2n
|
new for enwiki |
β−2n | β−-delayed 2-neutron emission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then emits two neutrons | (A − 2, Z + 1) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
140 | b-3n
|
new in 2020 |
β−3n | β−-delayed 3-neutron emission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then emits three neutrons | (A − 3, Z + 1) | |||
150 | b+p
|
new for enwiki |
β+p | β+-delayed proton emission | A nucleus decays by β+ emission to an excited state, which then emits a proton | (A − 1, Z − 2) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
160 | b+2p
|
new for enwiki |
β+2p | β+-delayed 2-proton emission | A nucleus decays by β+ emission to an excited state, which then emits two protons | (A − 2, Z − 3) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
170 | b+3p
|
new in 2020 |
β+3p | β+-delayed 3-proton emission | A nucleus decays by β+ emission to an excited state, which then emits three protons | (A − 3, Z − 4) | |||
180 | b-a
|
new for enwiki |
β−α | β−-delayed alpha emission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then emits an α particle | (A − 4, Z − 1) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
190 | b+a
|
new for enwiki |
β+α | β+-delayed alpha emission | A nucleus decays by β+ emission to an excited state, which then emits an α particle | (A − 4, Z − 3) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
200 | b-d
|
new for enwiki |
β−d | β−-delayed deuteron emission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then emits a deuteron | (A − 2, Z) | (already in NUBASE2016 table) | ||
210 | b-t
|
new in 2020 |
β−t | β−-delayed triton emission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then emits a triton | (A − 3, Z) | |||
262 | CD
|
not in 2020; same as 260? |
CD | Cluster decay | A nucleus emits a specific type of smaller nucleus (A1, Z1) which is larger than an alpha particle | (A − A1, Z − Z1) & (A1, Z1) | |||
305 | IT
|
IT |
Nuclear isomer § Decay processes lbl:Internal (isomeric) transition
Internal (isomeric) transition
|
A nucleus in a metastable state drops to a lower energy state by emitting a photon or ejecting an electron. | (A, Z) | ||||
310 | SF
|
SF | Spontaneous fission | A nucleus disintegrates into two or more smaller nuclei and other particles, all of which may vary with each decay | variable | ||||
320 | b+SF
|
β+SF | β+-delayed fission | A nucleus decays by β+ emission to an excited state, which then undergoes spontaneous fission | β+ & variable | ||||
330 | b-SF
|
β−SF | β−-delayed fission | A nucleus decays by β− emission to an excited state, which then undergoes spontaneous fission | β− & variable | ||||
900 | Not in Table 2020 | ||||||||
260 | 24Ne
|
new in enwiki (same as CD, 262?) |
24Ne | Heavy cluster emission | (already in 2016 table) | [?] | neon-24? | ||
910 | epsiepsi
|
not in NB table |
Kr-78,
Fe-54 |
εε | Double electron capture | A nucleus absorbs two orbital electrons and emits two neutrinos – the daughter nucleus is left in an excited and unstable state | (A, Z − 2) | see 2β... | |
920 |
|
in table? |
[[
Beta decay § Bound-state β− decay]]
Bound-state beta decay
lbl:Bound-state beta decay |
A free neutron or nucleus beta decays to electron and antineutrino, but the electron is not emitted, as it is captured into an empty K-shell; the daughter nucleus is left in an excited and unstable state. This process is a minority of free neutron decays (0.0004%) due to the low energy of hydrogen ionization, and is suppressed except in ionized atoms that have K-shell vacancies. | (A, Z + 1) | ||||
930 |
|
in table? |
Electron capture with positron emission | A nucleus absorbs one orbital electron, emits one positron and two neutrinos | (A, Z − 2) | mode = "blank" | |||
940 |
|
in table? |
Internal conversion | Excited nucleus transfers energy to an orbital electron, which is subsequently ejected from the atom | (A, Z) | ||||
1 |
|
not in NB table |
[not a decay mode; added for completeness] | — | |||||
11 | beta
|
test |
β | β-test | [β added for testing only] | sole-β is not a mode | |||
62 | EC
|
not in NB table |
EC | Electron capture | Same as 60?, ε | (A, Z − 1) |
| ||
102 | 2b-
|
see 100 |
β−β− | Double beta decay | β− (old enwiki notation) | notation diff | |||
112 | 2b+
|
see 110 |
β+β+ | Double beta decay | 2β+ (old enwiki notation) | notation diff
| |||
3 | obsstable
|
not in NB table |
e.g.
Isotopes of mercury#Hg-198 |
observ. stable | observationally stable | [not a NB decay mode; added for completeness] | — | NOT in NUBASE2020 |
References
An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Radioactive materials and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 April 28#Radioactive material until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Oiyarbepsy ( talk) 05:12, 28 April 2022 (UTC)
@DePiep: Would it be possible to edit the line Cluster decay in your table? Normally I would do it myself, but I cannot find the source code to modify. Suggested changes: 1. Mode column: Delete 24Ne because it is not the only possible cluster emitted. 2. Action column: Add at the end: Examples C-14 and Ne-24. (These are 2 of the most frequent examples as per the list in the article Cluster decay. Dirac66 ( talk) 16:02, 29 October 2023 (UTC)
@Double sharp: Yes, you have corrected the table as I asked. Thank you for the correction and also for pointing it out. I did not notice the change since because it does not appear in the revision history. Whatever method you used to correct the table is quite mysterious for someone used to standard Wikipedia edits, and if I now look at a revision before the date of the request above (29 Oct 2023) the system claims that this line was already as it is now, which is not true. I am glad you knew how to do it. Dirac66 ( talk) 22:58, 28 November 2023 (UTC)
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 12 February 2024 and 14 June 2024. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Alliemoreno ( article contribs). Peer reviewers: Samiam25.
— Assignment last updated by Ahlluhn ( talk) 00:57, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
The article claims, without a reference, that radioactive decay is analogous to an avalanche from a snowfield on a mountain. The entire paragraph mixes simple classical ideas with bogus quantum ones. It talks about entropy and "over a larger number of quantum states". The energy of decay is down hill even ignoring entropy as far as I know. That's one of its most interesting characteristics. Radioactive decay is exactly not like classical systems. Am I wrong here? Johnjbarton ( talk) 01:52, 31 May 2024 (UTC)