Nuclear reaction Common light particles are often abbreviated in this shorthand, typically p for proton, n for neutron, d for deuteron, α representing an alpha particle or helium-4, β for beta particle or electron, γ for gamma photon, etc. The reaction above would be written as Li-6(d,α)α. In 1919, Ernest Rutherford was able to accomplish transmutation of nitrogen into oxygen at the University of Manchester, using alpha particles directed at nitrogen N + α → O + p. This was the first observation of an induced nuclear reaction, that is, a reaction in which particles from one decay are used to transform
Americium-241 starting material for the production of other transuranic elements and transactinides – for example, neutron bombardment of Am yields Am: formula_3 From there, 82.7% of Am decays to Cm and 17.3% to Pu: 82.7% → formula_10 17.3%→ formula_11 In the nuclear reactor, Am is also up-converted by neutron capture to Am and Am, which transforms by β-decay to Cm: Irradiation of Am by C or Ne ions yields the isotopes Es (einsteinium) or Db (dubnium), respectively. Furthermore, the element berkelium (Bk isotope) had been first intentionally produced and identified by bombarding Am with alpha particles, in 1949, by the same