Aran613 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I've been pondering Beta decay, and it doesn't make any sense at all. Every time I read up on it, it doesn't make any sense at all, I'm trying to find out how it all works without being confused out of my mind. All you here seem extremely smart, can you put it into terms I would understand? This has been bugging me for a while... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Here's a simplified answer. Down quark in a neutron flips into an up quark, turning the neutron into a proton and releasing an electron. This electron has a lot of energy and is a beta particle. The more exact details get a little nasty, so neutron -> proton + electron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentASM Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 (edited) What issue exactly are you having? Beta minus decay (the most common one) is where a neutron decays into a proton plus an electron and a electron anti-neutrino. The neutron at the beginning has no charge, so when it decays into a proton there's a positive charge (+1), and charge must be conserved at the beginning and end, which leads to an electron being ejected with -1 charge. However the electron being produced has its own number, which must be conserved, so a electron anti-neutrino must also be produced. Edited March 1, 2012 by VincentASM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 What issue exactly are you having? Beta minus decay (the most common one) is where a neutron decays into a proton plus an electron and a electron anti-neutrino. The neutron at the beginning has no charge, so when it decays into a proton there's a positive charge (+1), and charge must be conserved at the beginning and end, which leads to an electron being ejected with -1 charge. However the electron being produced has its own number, which must be conserved, so a electron anti-neutrino must also be produced. Oops, forgot about the anti-neutrino, silly me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aran613 Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 Oh, I see, that makes a lot more sense, because all the previous explanations didn't tie it together, that makes a lot more sense. Yes, that makes a lot more sense, now putting it all together. Thanks for that, it helps a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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