the radioactive decay process resulting in emission of alpha particles
alpha decay in American English
noun
Physics
a radioactive process in which an alpha particle is emitted from the nucleus of an atom, decreasing its atomic number by two
Word origin
[1935–40]This word is first recorded in the period 1935–40. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Arts and Crafts Movement, aeroembolism, complementation, unit trust, walk-through
Examples of 'alpha decay' in a sentence
alpha decay
The actinides chosen were with high and low intensity of alpha-decay mode.
Norah A.M. Alsaif, Saad M. Saleh Ahmed 2019, 'Alpha-cluster preformation probability in even-even actinide nuclei', Results in Physicshttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379718322265. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
Concentration of helium generated in the material by alpha decay was calculated.
Viererbl Ladislav, Lahodová Zdena, Zmítková Jelena, Vinš Miroslav, Šrank Jiří 2016, 'Dose and temperature distribution in spent fuel containing material', EPJ Nuclear Sciences & Technologieshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1051/epjn/2016024. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
The results showed well production of preformation probability, which had consistence with other even-even heavy alpha-decay nuclei.
Norah A.M. Alsaif, Saad M. Saleh Ahmed 2019, 'Alpha-cluster preformation probability in even-even actinide nuclei', Results in Physicshttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379718322265. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
In other instances such as with extended alpha decay chains, chemical changes may lead to unwanted consequences.
Patricia E. Edem, Jesper Fonslet, Andreas Kjær, Matthias Herth, Gregory Severin 2016, 'In Vivo Radionuclide Generators for Diagnostics and Therapy', Bioinorganic Chemistry and Applicationshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/6148357. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)