nuclear reaction
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A nuclear reaction is when two atomic nuclei collide with each other and combine to create one or more new nuclei. This matters because nuclear reactions are the source of energy in stars, power nuclear reactors, and are used in medical treatments and scientific research.
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In this symbolic representing of a nuclear reaction, lithium-6 ( 3Li) and deuterium ( 1H) react to form the highly excited intermediate nucleus 4Be which then decays immediately into two alpha particles of helium-4 ( 2He). Protons are symbolically represented by red spheres, and neutrons by blue spheres.
In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, a nuclear reaction is a process in which two nuclei, or a nucleus and an external subatomic particle, collide to produce one or more new nuclides. Thus, a nuclear reaction must cause a transformation of at least one nuclide to another. If a nucleus interacts with another nucleus or particle, and they then separate without changing the nature of any nuclide, the process is simply referred to as a type of nuclear scattering, rather than a nuclear reaction.