Abstract
This chapter discusses nuclear reactions. Radioactive decay is a spontaneous reaction occurring when there is nuclear instability. Nuclides vary considerably in their stability, and unstable nuclei eject subatomic particles, usually electrons, but also alpha particles, these nuclear rearrangements often being accompanied by the emission of γ-rays. An additional factor in nuclear stability is the binding energy of the nucleus. This is the amount of energy required to reduce the nucleus to its constituent particles. It is, therefore, apparent that nuclear decay processes will be a reflection of the various interrelated factors that may affect the stability of a radionuclide. There are three types of neutron reaction—(1) activation by neutron capture; (2) transmutation; and (3) fission. The majority of elements show radiative capture reactions with slow neutrons, where the energy of the compound nucleus is not sufficient to eject a nucleon following the capture of an incident particle, but some of its excess energy is emitted as γ radiation. Activation by neutron capture process is the most common method for obtaining artificial radioisotopes, particularly, as reactors are such an easily available source of neutrons.
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