Re:I’m in Wyoming to celebrate the next nuclear breakthrough
by tzs on Saturday May 06, 2023 @10:43AM
(#35841840)
Could an electron emitted by beta decay of a neutron on the sodium hit the nucleus of something else and combine with a proton their to form a neutron, producing an unstable isotope of that something else?
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Re:I’m in Wyoming to celebrate the next nuclear breakthrough
by amluto on Saturday May 06, 2023 @12:43PM
(#35843019)
Electron capture by a nucleus is a thing, but as far as I know, this only happens to any significant extent to unstable nuclei that naturally decay that way. It’s probably possible for a high enough energy electron to hit a stable nucleus and convert a proton to a neutron, but I’ve never heard of it (although I’m not an expert). So I don’t think anyone needs to worry about this.