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alpha particle |
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alpha particle, one of the three types of radiation resulting from natural radioactivity radioactivity, spontaneous disintegration or decay of the nucleus of an atom by emission of particles, usually accompanied by electromagnetic radiation. The energy produced by radioactivity has important military and industrial applications.
..... Click the link for more information. . Alpha radiation (or alpha rays) was distinguished and named by E. R. Rutherford in 1909, who found by measuring the charge and mass of alpha particles that they are the nuclei of ordinary helium atoms. Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons (see nucleus nucleus, in physics, the extremely dense central core of an atom. The Nature of the Nucleus Composition Atomic nuclei are composed of two types of particles, protons and neutrons, which are collectively known as nucleons. ..... Click the link for more information. ). alpha particle a helium-4 nucleus, containing two neutrons and two protons, emitted during some radioactive transformations alpha particle [′al·fə ‚pärd·ə·kəl] (atomic physics) A positively charged particle consisting of two protons and two neutrons, identical with the nucleus of the helium atom; emitted by several radioactive substances.
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