Explain the motion of centre of mass with the decay of a radioactive nucleus
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Nuclear decay has provided an amazing window into the realm of the very small. Nuclear decay gave the first indication of the connection between mass and energy, and it revealed the existence of two of the four basic forces in nature. In this section, we explore the major modes of nuclear decay; and, like those who first explored them, we will discover evidence of previously unknown particles and conservation laws.
Some nuclides are stable, apparently living forever. Unstable nuclides decay (that is, they are radioactive), eventually producing a stable nuclide after many decays. We call the original nuclide the parent and its decay products the daughters. Some radioactive nuclides decay in a single step to a stable nucleus. For example, 60Co is unstable and decays directly to 60Ni, which is stable. Others, such as 238U, decay to another unstable nuclide, resulting in a decay series in which each subsequent nuclide decays until a stable nuclide is finally produced.
The decay series that starts from 238U is of particular interest, since it produces the radioactive isotopes 226Ra and 210Po, which the Curies first discovered (see Figure 1). Radon gas is also produced (222Rn in the series), an increasingly recognized naturally occurring hazard. Since radon is a noble gas, it emanates from materials, such as soil, containing even trace amounts of 238U and can be inhaled. The decay of radon and its daughters produces internal damage. The 238U decay series ends with 206Pb, a stable isotope of lead.