Which is the X of the following nuclear reaction? 4Be9 + 2He4 = X + 0n1
Answers
Answer:
Many entities can be involved in nuclear reactions. The most common are protons, neutrons, alpha particles, beta particles, positrons, and gamma rays, as shown in Table 1. Protons
(
1
1
p
, also represented by the symbol
1
1
H
)
and neutrons
(
1
0
n
)
are the constituents of atomic nuclei, and have been described previously. Alpha particles
(
4
2
He
, also represented by the symbol
4
2
α
)
are high-energy helium nuclei. Beta particles
(
0
−
1
β
, also represented by the symbol
0
−
1
e
)
are high-energy electrons, and gamma rays are photons of very high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Positrons
(
0
+
1
β
, also represented by the symbol
0
+
1
β
)
are positively charged electrons (“anti-electrons”). The subscripts and superscripts are necessary for balancing nuclear equations, but are usually optional in other circumstances. For example, an alpha particle is a helium nucleus (He) with a charge of +2 and a mass number of 4, so it is symbolized
4
2
He
. This works because, in general, the ion charge is not important in the balancing of nuclear equations.