radionuclide
Sign in to savethumb|Chart of known nuclides . The vast majority are radionuclides.
AI overview
A radionuclide is a type of atom with an unstable nucleus that releases energy and particles as it breaks down over time. They're important because they're far more common than stable atoms in nature, and understanding them helps us track radioactive materials used in medicine, power generation, and other applications.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
16 sectionsContents
- Production and effects
- Origins
- Overview
- Natural
- Nuclear fission
- Synthetic
- Uses
- Examples
- Household [[Smoke detector|smoke detectors]]
- Impacts on organisms
- Summary table for classes of nuclides, stable and radioactive
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|Chart of known nuclides . The vast majority are radionuclides.
A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that is unstable and known to undergo radioactive decay into a different nuclide, which may be another radionuclide (see decay chain) or be stable. Radiation emitted by radionuclides is almost always ionizing radiation because it is energetic enough to liberate an electron from another atom.