And if at times these things bent the welded iron of his soul , much more did his far-away domestic memories of his young Cape wife and child , tend to bend him still more from the original ruggedness of his nature , and open him still further to those latent influences which , in some honest-hearted men , restrain the gush of dare-devil daring , so ...
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay or radioactivity) is the process by which the nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting radiation, including alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays, and conversion electrons. A material that spontaneously emits such radiation is considered radioactive.
The animation below shows the three types of radiations that can be released when an unstable nucleus decays. Alpha particles are released by high mass, proton rich unstable nuclei. The alpha particle is a helium nucleus; it consists of two protons and two neutrons. It contains no electrons to balance the two positively charged protons. Alpha particles are therefore positively charged particles moving at high speeds. Beta particles are emitted by neutron rich unstable nuclei. Beta particles are high energy electrons.