Natural Radioactivity

Topic Description

Upon completion of this module, you should be able to write nuclear equations for the three main types of natural radiation, explain what happens in a natural radioactive decay series, and do calculations for first-order radioactive decay problems. Natural radiation associated with radioactive decay can be placed into three classes: alpha decay, beta decay, and gamma-ray emission. Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons. This type of radiation is the least harmful to humans. Beta particles are small, charged particles. They can be emitted from unstable atoms at speeds approaching the speed of light.