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Definition
| The principal building block of the nucleus; a neutron or a proton. |
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| The force that attracts nucleons to one another within the nucleus; a force that is very strong at close distances but decreases rapidly as the distance increases. |
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| Term applied to an atom with a nucleus that is unstable and that can spontaneously emit a particle and become the nucleus of another element. |
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| The charged particles and energy given off by radioactive atoms such as uranium. |
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Definition
| A form of an element having a particular number of neutrons in the nuclei of its atoms. Different isotopes of a particular element have the same atomic number but different atomic mass numbers. |
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Definition
| Number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. |
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Definition
| Total number of nucleons (neutrons and protons) in the nucleus of an atom. |
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| The time required for half the atoms of a radioactive isotope of an element to decay. Also used for decay processes in general. |
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Definition
| The changing of one element into another element through a loss or gain in the number of protons. |
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