Alpha decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle ( two protons and two neutrons ) and thereby transforms ( or ' decays ') into an atom with a mass number 4 less and atomic number 2 less.

Alpha decay is by far the most common form of cluster decay where the parent atom ejects a defined daughter collection of nucleons, leaving another defined product behind ( in nuclear fission, a number of different pairs of daughters of approximately equal size are formed ).

Alpha decay is the most likely cluster decay because of the combined extremely high binding energy and relatively small mass of the helium-4 product nucleus ( the alpha particle ).

Alpha decay, like other cluster decays, is fundamentally a quantum tunneling process.

Alpha decay typically occurs in the heaviest nuclides.

Alpha decay can provide a safe power source for radioisotope thermoelectric generators used for space probes and artificial heart pacemakers.

Alpha decay is much more easily shielded against than other forms of radioactive decay.

# REDIRECT Alpha decay

Alpha decay is when a nucleus releases an alpha particle, which is two protons and two neutrons, equivalent to a helium nucleus.

Alpha decay occurs when the nucleus ejects an alpha particle ( helium nucleus ).

Alpha particles, protons, and X-rays are emitted during the radioactive decay of unstable atoms.

Alpha particles, produced by the decay of radon and polonium, leave tracks of charge on the silicon wafers when they impact the silicon.

* One recent hypothesis suggests that the lights are formed by a cluster of macroscopic Coulomb crystals in a plasma produced by the ionization of air and dust by Alpha particles during radon decay in the dusty atmosphere.

Alpha decay of heavy elements in the Earth's crust is the source of most naturally occurring helium-4 on Earth.

# REDIRECT Alpha decay

Note that the mass threshold is four times that of 1958 Alpha and that the flux is one fifth as large.

Therefore, N is inversely proportional to the radius cubed and in fair agreement with the inverse 7/2 power derived from 1958 Alpha and 1959 Eta data.

Her husband, who is the son of Alton John Mason of Shreveport, La., and the late Mrs. Henry Cater Parmer, was president of Alpha Tau Omega and a member of Delta Sigma Pi at Lamar Tech, and did graduate work at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, on a Rotary Fellowship.

It is similar to the Ancient Greek letter Alpha, from which it derives.

Alpha ( uppercase Α, lowercase α ; Álpha ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet.

Alpha, both as a symbol and term, is used to refer to or describe a variety of things, including the first or most significant occurrence of something.

Alpha particles have a typical kinetic energy of 5 MeV ( that is, ≈ 0. 13 % of their total energy, i. e. 110 TJ / kg ) and a speed of 15, 000 km / s.

Alpha blending is a convex combination of two colors allowing for transparency effects in computer graphics.

Alpha blending is used in a variety of applications.

Arcturus (; α Boo, α Boötis, Alpha Boötis ) is the brightest star in the constellation Boötes and in fact the northern celestial hemisphere.

With a visual magnitude of − 0. 04, it is the fourth brightest star in the night sky, after − 1. 46 magnitude Sirius, − 0. 86 magnitude Canopus, and − 0. 27 magnitude Alpha Centauri.

However, Alpha Centauri is a bright binary star, whose unresolved components to the naked eye are both fainter than Arcturus.

This makes Arcturus the third brightest individual star, just ahead of Alpha Centauri A ( α Cen A ), whose visual magnitude is − 0. 01.

Antares ( α Scorpii, α Sco, Alpha Scorpii ) is a red supergiant star in the Milky Way galaxy and the sixteenth brightest star in the nighttime sky.

Altair ( Alpha Aquilae, Alpha Aql, α Aquilae, α Aql, Atair ) is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila and the twelfth brightest star in the night sky.

: Alpha testing takes place at developers ' sites, and involves testing of the operational system by internal staff, before it is released to external customers.

) For example, Aldebaran is designated α Tauri ( pronounced Alpha Tauri ), which means " Alpha of the Bull ".

Alpha Centauri, one of the closest stars to the Sun, has a high proper motion ; it will be a mere half-degree from Beta Centauri in approximately 4000 years.

At least one other TSR product was announced -- Metamorphosis Alpha to Omega, an adaptation of Metamorphosis Alpha's campaign setting to Gamma World's rules ( Anon 1981 ).

* In the video games Master of Orion ( 1993 ), Master of Orion 2 ( 1996 ), Master of Orion 3 ( 2003 ), and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri ( 1999 ), neutronium is one of the strongest armor types.

Barnard's Star, one of the nearest stars to the Solar System ( the only stars closer are the Alpha Centauri binary star system and Proxima Centauri ), lies in Ophiuchus.

Symbolics also made significant advances in software technology, and offered one of the premier software development environments of the 1980s and 1990s, now sold commercially as Open Genera for Tru64 UNIX on the HP Alpha.

This makes it one of the closest star systems to the Sun, and the next-closest spectral class-G star after Alpha Centauri A.

Two melodies from Albedo 0. 39, " Alpha " and " Pulstar ", and also one track from L ' Apocalypse des animaux, " Création du Monde ", were also used in Cosmos.

Patton attended Virginia Military Institute for one year, where he rushed VMI's chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order.

* one of the seven factions the player can choose to control in the computer game Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri ; their philosophy in the game is similar to that described in Gaian Greens.

On the other side of the city was Kreuzberg Kasern, home to various units of the United States Army ; however, only one combat unit, Alpha battery 2nd Battalion, 60th Air Defense Artillery, was headquartered on the Ramstein Air Base.

( Though one can run multiple instances of Open Genera on one DEC Alpha ).

Ta Nea, advertisements for Fix Hellas, one of the four well-known brands of Greek beer, characters are drinking Alpha and Fix beers through the movie, Greek can be heard in the background and there is a picture of Aliki Vougiouklaki, a famous Greek actress, in one of the taverns ) that it is Greece in the early 1960s.

Over the past two years, the community added four fraternities ( Tau Kappa Epsilon, Sigma Chi, Delta Sigma Phi ( ΔΣΦ ), and Delta Upsilon ) and one sorority ( Alpha Gamma Delta ).

Most recently it has been discovered that the Alpha Lanterns have been subverted by the Cyborg Superman on a bid to lure Ganthet, as the former Guardian of the Universe was the only one who could restore Henshaw to his former self.

The county is divided into forty townships: Alden, Alpha, Bates, Burdette, Campbell, Carlton, Cedar, Como, Florence, Gilbert, Glendale, Grand, Greenleaf, Hiland, Holden, Hulbert, Linn, Logan, Midland, Miller, Mondamin, Ohio, Ontario, Park, Pearl, Plato, Pleasant Valley, Ree Heights, Riverside, Rockdale, Rose Hill, St. Lawrence, Spring Hill, Spring Lake, Wheaton, and York ; and one area of unorganized territory: Northwest Hand.

Alpha is one of the eastern-most locations within the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Alpha Fire Company maintains one of its two substations in Patton Township.

Bigelow began to publicly refer to the initial configuration — two Sundancer modules and one BA-330 module — as " Space Complex Alpha " in October 2010.

* Alpha males forsake the trophy wife, article in the Sunday Times, stating that " Academics say they have found the first evidence that successful British males increasingly prefer a spouse with a high-powered job to one who stays at home with the children.

Yemassee hosts one of the few commercial breeding facilities of non-human primates in the entire United States ( Alpha Genesis, Inc .).

Fomalhaut ( Alpha Piscis Austrini, Alpha PsA, α Piscis Austrini, α PsA ) is the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus and one of the brightest stars in the sky.