Radioactivity:

The nuclei of most recognizable substances are stable. They maintain their identities and stay unchanged indefinitely. Though, some atomic nuclei vary with time; they are always unstable. Since unstable atomic nuclei disintegrate, they release high-energy photons and different subatomic particles. The Radioactivity is a common term which refers to any of such types of radiation occurring from the disintegration of the unstable atoms.

FORMS

The Radioactivity, also termed as ionizing radiation since it can strip electrons from atoms, takes place in different forms. The most general are gamma rays, alpha (α) particles, beta β) particles, & neutrinos. There are also few less general forms, like high-speed protons and antiprotons, neutrons and antineutrons, and the nuclei of atoms heavier than helium.

Alpha particles are helium-4 (⁴He) nuclei moving at high speeds. A ⁴He nucleus contains two protons and two neutrons. The alpha particle has a positive electric charge since there are no negatively charged electrons enclosed it. As such, all the alpha particles are ions. They have important mass; therefore if they achieve high sufficient speeds, they can obtain considerable kinetic energy. The alpha particle moving at a sizable fraction of the speed of light (termed as relativistic speed) achieves a raised mass since of relativistic effects; this provides it additional kinetic energy. Most of the alpha particles can be blocked by humble barriers.

The Beta particles are high-speed electrons or positrons. (Recall that a positron is the antimatter complement of the electron.) Any beta particle having an electron, also termed as negatron since it has a negative electric charge, is represented by β^-, and any β particle having a positron, that carries a positive charge, is symbolized by β⁺. All the beta particles contain nonzero rest mass (their mass whenever not moving at relativistic speed). Their kinetic energies are raised by relativistic effects when they move at near light speeds.

Neutrinos are an totally different kind of particle. They have no electric charge and no rest mass. They have incredible penetrating power. The Earth is continually being bombarded by neutrinos from space. Such neutrinos contain their origins in the cores of the Sun and far-away stars. Most of the neutrinos pass via the whole planet unaffected. Sophisticated equipment is needed to identify them. Neutrino detectors are positioned far underground to block all the other forms of radiation therefore scientists can be sure the equipment is actually identifying neutrinos and not stray particles of some other kind. The neutrino has a complement, termed as the antineutrino.