How does nuclear radiation, in terms of subatomic particles, work?
Radioactivity is the spontaneous disintegration of an atom of an element. The fission interaction is the basis of all nuclear chain reactions, without it there would be no nuclear reaction. In fission the neutron bombards an atom of fissionable material splitting it apart and producing additional free neutrons to perpetuate the reaction, as well as heat energy and radiation energy. A fissionable element will have a heavy nucleus from which an average of two or three neutrons are emitted when it is struck by a neutron. Alpha Radiation When the nucleus of an atom has too many protons it results in disequilibrium of the nucleus due to the excessive repulsion. In order to reduce the repulsion the atom emits an alpha particle. An alpha particle consists of two protons and two neutrons bound together as a stable entity. The loss of the alpha particle reduces the atomic number by two. A stream of alpha particles is referred to as alpha radiation or an alpha ray. In comparison to other subatom
