Electron capture (sometimes called inverse beta decay) is a decay mode for isotopes that will occur when there are too many protons in the nucleus of an atom and insufficient energy to emit a positron; however, it continues to be a viable decay mode for radioactive isotopes that can decay by positron emission. Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable Atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and Radiation. Isotopes (Greek isos = "equal" tópos = "site place" are any of the different types of atoms ( Nuclides The proton ( Greek πρῶτον / proton "first" is a Subatomic particle with an Electric charge of one positive The nucleus of an Atom is the very dense region consisting of Nucleons ( Protons and Neutrons, at the center of an atom History See also Atomic theory, Atomism The concept that matter is composed of discrete units and cannot be divided into arbitrarily tiny The positrons or antielectron is the Antiparticle or the Antimatter counterpart of the Electron. Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable Atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and Radiation. Positron emission is a type of Beta decay, sometimes referred to as " beta plus " (&beta+ If the energy difference between the parent atom and the daughter atom is less than 1. 022 MeV, positron emission is forbidden and electron capture is the sole decay mode. For example, Rubidium-83 will decay to Krypton-83 solely by electron capture (the energy difference is about 0. Rubidium (ruːˈbɪdiəm /rəˈbɪdiəm/ is a Chemical element with the symbol Rb and Atomic number 37 Krypton (ˈkrɪptən or /ˈkrɪptɒn/ from kryptos "hidden" is a Chemical element with the symbol Kr and Atomic number 36 9 MeV).
In this case, one of the orbital electrons, usually from the K or L electron shell (K-electron capture, also K-capture, or L-electron capture, L-capture), is captured by a proton in the nucleus, forming a neutron and a neutrino. The electron is a fundamental Subatomic particle that was identified and assigned the negative charge in 1897 by J An electron shell may be crudely thought of as an Orbit followed by Electrons around an Atom nucleus. This article is a discussion of neutrons in general For the specific case of a neutron found outside the nucleus see Free neutron. Neutrinos are Elementary particles that travel close to the Speed of light, lack an Electric charge, are able to pass through ordinary matter almost Since the proton is changed to a neutron, the number of neutrons increases by 1, the number of protons decreases by 1, and the atomic mass number remains unchanged. The atomic mass (ma is the Mass of an atom most often expressed in unified atomic mass units The atomic mass may be considered to be the total mass By changing the number of protons, electron capture transforms the nuclide into a new element. A nuclide (from lat nucleus is a species of Atom characterized by the constitution of its nucleus and hence by the number of Protons, the number of A chemical element is a type of Atom that is distinguished by its Atomic number; that is by the number of Protons in its nucleus. The atom moves into an excited state with the inner shell missing an electron. Excitation is an elevation in energy level above an arbitrary baseline energy state When transiting to the ground state, the atom will emit an X-ray photon (a type of electromagnetic radiation) and/or Auger electrons. X-radiation (composed of X-rays) is a form of Electromagnetic radiation. Electromagnetic radiation takes the form of self-propagating Waves in a Vacuum or in Matter. The Auger effect (ˈɔːʒɚ or Oh' jeh is a phenomenon in Physics in which the emission of an Electron from an Atom causes the emission of a second
(Please note that it is one of the initial atom's own electrons that is captured, not a new, incoming electron as might be suggested by the way the above reactions are written. The proton ( Greek πρῶτον / proton "first" is a Subatomic particle with an Electric charge of one positive The electron is a fundamental Subatomic particle that was identified and assigned the negative charge in 1897 by J This article is a discussion of neutrons in general For the specific case of a neutron found outside the nucleus see Free neutron. Neutrinos are Elementary particles that travel close to the Speed of light, lack an Electric charge, are able to pass through ordinary matter almost Aluminium ( Al) has multiple Isotopes Only 27Al ( Stable isotope) and 26Al ( radioactive isotope ''t''1/2 WikipediaNaming The electron is a fundamental Subatomic particle that was identified and assigned the negative charge in 1897 by J Magnesium ( Mg)Standard atomic mass 243050(6 u Table Magnesium (mægˈniːziəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Mg, Atomic number 12 Atomic weight 24 Neutrinos are Elementary particles that travel close to the Speed of light, lack an Electric charge, are able to pass through ordinary matter almost Naturally occurring Nickel ( Ni) is composed of 5 stable Isotopes 58Ni 60Ni 61Ni 62Ni and 64Ni Nickel (ˈnɪkəl is a metallic Chemical element with the symbol Ni and Atomic number 28 The electron is a fundamental Subatomic particle that was identified and assigned the negative charge in 1897 by J Naturally occurring Cobalt ( Co) is composed of 1 stable Isotope, 59Co Cobalt (ˈkoʊbɒlt is a hard lustrous silver-grey Metal, a Chemical element with symbol Co. Neutrinos are Elementary particles that travel close to the Speed of light, lack an Electric charge, are able to pass through ordinary matter almost Potassium ( K) has 24 known Isotopes Three isotopes occur naturally 39K (93 Potassium (pəˈtæsiəm is a Chemical element. It has the symbol K (kalium from qalīy Atomic number 19 and Atomic mass 39 The electron is a fundamental Subatomic particle that was identified and assigned the negative charge in 1897 by J This article pertains to the chemical element For other uses see Argon (disambiguation. Neutrinos are Elementary particles that travel close to the Speed of light, lack an Electric charge, are able to pass through ordinary matter almost ) Radioactive isotopes which decay by pure electron capture can, in theory, be inhibited from radioactive decay if they are fully ionized ("stripped" is sometimes used to describe such ions). An ion is an Atom or Molecule which has lost or gained one or more Valence electrons giving it a positive or negative electrical charge It is hypothesized that such elements, if formed by the r-process in exploding supernovae, are ejected fully ionized and so do not undergo radioactive decay as long as they do not encounter electrons in outer space. The r-process is a Nucleosynthesis process occurring in core-collapse Supernovae (see also Supernova nucleosynthesis) responsible for the creation of approximately A supernova (plural supernovae or supernovas) is a stellar Explosion. Anomalies in elemental distributions are thought to be partly a result of this effect on electron capture.
Chemical bonds can also affect the rate of electron capture to a small degree (generally less than 1%) depending on the proximity of electrons to the nucleus. A chemical bond is the physical process responsible for the attractive interactions between Atoms and Molecules and which confers stability to diatomic and polyatomic [1]
Around the elements in the middle of the periodic table, isotopes that are lighter than stable isotopes of the same element tend to decay through electron capture, while isotopes heavier than the stable ones decay by electron emission. The periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular method of displaying the Chemical elements Although precursors to this table exist its invention is In Nuclear physics, beta decay is a type of Radioactive decay in which a Beta particle (an Electron or a Positron) is emitted In Nuclear physics, beta decay is a type of Radioactive decay in which a Beta particle (an Electron or a Positron) is emitted A good example of this is silver. Naturally occurring Silver ( Ag) is composed of the two stable Isotopes 107Ag and 109Ag with 107Ag being the more abundant
Some common radioisotopes that decay by electron capture include:
| Radioisotope | Half-life |
|---|---|
| Be-7 | 53. 28 d |
| Ar-37 | 35. 0 d |
| Ca-41 | 1. 03E5 a |
| Ti-44 | 52 a |
| V-49 | 337 d |
| Cr-51 | 27. 7 d |
| Mn-53 | 3. 7E6 a |
| Co-57 | 271. 8 d |
| Ni-56 | 6. 10 d |
| Ga-67 | 3. 260 d |
| Ge-68 | 270. 8 d |
| Se-72 | 8. 5 d |
For a full list, see the table of nuclides. A table of nuclides or chart of nuclides is a graphic in which Nuclides are drawn such that one axis represents the number of Neutrons and the