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2006-10-07 16:22:58 · 3 answers · asked by invincible_perfectionist 1 in Science & Mathematics Physics

3 answers

Normally alpha – decay will occur in heavy nucleus.
In alpha decay an atom loses a helium nucleus and
becomes an atom of a new element. something must have
happened to two electrons that would have been
associated with the helium atom. It's an interesting
question that whether the atom of the new element now
have a negative two charge or does something else
happen to these electrons. Electrons are not exactly
static charged particles. They have a good deal of
fluidity in practice, and in fact one could go as far
as saying that they are inherently fuzzy objects, like
a photon of light. In most solids (and even in gases)
any non-equilibrium electronic state is almost
instantaneously readjusted. It's rearrangements of
atomic nuclei which take time (so that, while chemical
reactions technically involve only electrons, any
reaction which requires movement of whole atoms will
have a measurable rate).Essentially what happens in
a-decay is that the a-particle knocks electrons loose
from one or more nearby atoms, then picks up two of
the loose electrons to form a neutral helium atom.
Meanwhile, the other surrounding atoms (including the
"dianion" parent atom -- the scare quotes are
deliberate) very quickly reshuffle their electrons in
order to have the most energetically stable
configuration. This reshuffling energy, by the way,
shows up as heat; strong a-emitters like radium are
typically a little warmer than their surroundings, and
radioactive decay is a prime source of the earth's
internal heat.
Hope this answers your query.

2006-10-07 16:37:14 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

All the electrons have to shift orbits. It is a complex process, but in the end, two electrons will drift away.

2006-10-07 23:36:31 · answer #2 · answered by novangelis 7 · 0 0

Two electrons are eventually violently expelled from the orbit.

2006-10-07 23:52:14 · answer #3 · answered by bruinfan 7 · 0 0

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