Definition of Radioactivity

The concept of isotopes was introduced in Chap. 2, and it was used to describe a family of nuclei of the same element which have the same atomic number (number of protons), but different numbers of neutrons. The atomic masses used in chemical calculations are averages of the atomic masses of an element consisting of a number of isotopes with varying abundances in nature. In discussing nuclear processes, we refer to a particular isotope because we are interested in the precise number of nucleons (the name for either the protons or neutrons in the nucleus) and any changes in that number as a result of particulate emissions. We use the name nuclide for referring to particular isotopes of different elements.

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