Radioative Decay

Types of Radioactive Decay
The type of radioactive decay that occurs usually depends on whether the nucleus is above or below or to the right of the stability belt.There are five common types of radioactive decay.
1.Alpha Emission
2.Beta Emission
3.Positron Emission
4.Electron Capture
5.Gamma Emission
Half-life period
The time required for half of a radioactive substance to disintegrate is known as the half-life period, represented here by t1/2
Radioactive Isotopes and Isobars
A radioactive isotope is formed by the emission of one alpha and bita paricles, while an isobar is formed by the emission of one bita particle.
Binding Energy of the Nucleus
It has been observed that the actual mass of an isotope of an element, obtained experimentally using mass spectrograph, is invariably less than the calculated mass of the isotope. This mass difference is known as mass defect of the nucleus which is also expressed as the packing fraction of the nucleus.
Packing fraction = isotopic mass - mass number/mass number x 10000