Figure 1. A model of alpha decay, showing the ejection of an alpha particle from a nucleus.[1]Alpha decay is a nuclear decay process where an unstable nucleus changes to another element by shooting out a particle composed of two protons and two neutrons.[2] This ejected particle is known as an alpha particle and is simply a helium nucleus. Alpha particles have a relatively large mass and a positive charge. This large mass means alpha particles can't go very far through the air, or get very de...
