Advanced Topics }Radioactivity
 by natural decay
Recall the following decay processes, and recall that the subscripts and superscripts have to balance on both sides of the arrow.
Beta ( ) Decay:
where  is the symbol of an anti-neutrino. (The  decay is accompanied by a neutrino,  , instead of an anti-neutrino.)
Alpha Decay:
Gamma Decay (no change in A or Z):
Deuteron Decay (rare):
(A)  . This works out.
(B) decay always occurs with an antineutrino.
(C)  emission doesn't change the atomic number.
(D) Although the numbers work out here, deuteron decay is rare, thus not natural.
(E) The subscripts and superscripts don't add up.
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