Summary:
- Radioactive decay involves the emission of a particle and/or energy as one atom changes into another.
- There are four different types of emissions that occur.
- Alpha decay involves release of helium ions from the nucleus of an atom.
- Beta decay involves transformation of a neutron in the nucleus to a proton and an electron.
- gamma radiation is a form of energy release that may be released by itself or more commonly in association with other radiation events.
- The composition of the atom is not altered, but the nucleus could be considered more “comfortable” after the shift.