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
Dubnium by bombarding californium-249 with nitrogen-15 ions, with an alpha activity of 9.1 MeV. To ensure this activity was not from a different reaction, the team attempted other reactions: bombarding Cf with N, Pb with N, and Hg with N. They stated no such activity was found in those reactions. The characteristics of the daughter nuclei matched those of 103, implying that the parent nuclei were of 105. These results did not confirm the JINR findings regarding the 9.4 MeV or 9.7 MeV alpha decay of 105, leaving only 105 as a possibly produced isotope. JINR then attempted another experiment to