Nuclei can undergo reactions that change their number of protons, number of neutrons, or energy state. Many different particles can be involved and the most common are protons, neutrons, positrons, alpha (α) particles, beta (β) particles (high-energy electrons), and gamma (γ) rays (which compose high-energy electromagnetic radiation). As with chemical reactions, nuclear reactions are always balanced. When a nuclear reaction occurs, the total mass (number) and the total charge remain unchanged.
Unstable nuclei undergo spontaneous radioactive decay. The most common types of radioactivity are α decay, β decay, γ emission, positron emission, and electron capture. Nuclear reactions also often involve γ rays, and some nuclei decay by electron capture. Each of these modes of decay leads to the formation of a new stable nuclei sometimes via multiple decays before ending in a stable isotope. All nuclear decay processes follow first-order kinetics and each radioisotope has its own half-life.
It is possible to produce new atoms by bombarding other atoms with nuclei or high-speed particles. The products of these transmutation reactions can be stable or radioactive. A number of artificial elements, including technetium, astatine, and the transuranium elements, have been produced in this way.
When alpha, beta or gamma particles collides with a target, some of the energy in the particle is transferred to the target, typically resulting in the promotion of an electron to an “excited state”. In many “targets”, especially gasses, this results in ionization, and alpha, beta and gamma radiation is broadly referred to as ionizing radiation. A Geiger counter (or Geiger-Müller counter) takes advantage of this in order to detect these particles.
Protons and neutrons are called nucleons and a nuclide is an atom with a specific number nucleons. Unstable nuclei decay spontaneously are radioactive and its emissions are called radioactivity. Nuclei are bound by the strong nuclear force. Stable nuclei generally have even numbers of protons and neutrons with a ratio of at least 1. Nuclei that contain magic numbers of protons and neutrons are often especially stable including superheavy elements, with atomic numbers near 126.
The effects of radiation on matter depend on the energy of the radiation. Nonionizing radiation is relatively low in energy, and the energy is transferred to matter in the form of heat. Ionizing radiation is relatively high in energy, and when it collides with an atom, it can completely remove an electron to form a positively charged ion that can damage biological tissues.