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When lead-212 is ingested, it travels to the tumor location and emits alpha radiation, which kills all of the cells in the area. TAT, or targeted alpha therapy, is a revolutionary cancer treatment that uses alpha decay to attack cancer cells. In the medical field, alpha particles are also useful. This method was employed by NASA on their trips to Mars, notably the Pathfinder probes, to figure out what elements were present in Martian rocks. The elemental composition of rocks and soil is determined using this method. A few centimeters of air can halt their forward momentum.Īlpha particles are also utilized in a technique called Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectroscopy (APXS). Because of its charge and mass, an alpha particle reacts violently with its environment, losing all of its energy practically instantly. It's worth noting that alpha particles have a charge of +2 because they don't have any electrons. The alpha particles that are emitted from the nucleus have an energy level of roughly 5 MeV and a speed of around 5% of that of light. In such elements, it is the most common type of degradation. The element's nucleus must be big enough or unstable enough to undergo spontaneous fission-like modifications. Only the strongest elements experience alpha decay. Take a look at the following equation.Ī-4 b-2X is the daughter nucleus, the ending nucleus.Ī bZ is the parent nucleus, the starting nucleus.Īs a result, on both sides of this equation, the mass number and the atomic number balance out. Assume that element Z has the mass number a and the atomic number b.

A Uranium compound was wrapped with black paper and placed in a drawer containing photographic plates. Henry Becquerel discovered radioactivity. Thus, the transformation of a nucleus in an alpha decay can be written as After alpha decay, the element left behind is two atomic numbers and four mass numbers smaller.įor example, Uranium 238 92 decays to form Thorium 234 90.Ģ38 92U → 238-4 92-2Th + 4 2He → 234 90Th + 4 2He

The atomic number of the radioactive sample changes as the alpha particle, which is made up of two protons and a neutron, exits the nucleus.