4th Week: Decays, Tunneling and Cross Sections C

Radioactive Decay

The nucleus of an atom is made up of protons (Z) and neutrons (N). The total number of protons and neutrons is $Z+N=A$ In nature, an atom undergoes Radioactive Decay when the number of protons and neutrons in the atom changes. There are three main processes by which these changes can occur. These are Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Decay.