What happens if an atom is unstable

The excited form is signified with an "m" meta beside its atomic number, eg technetiumm Tcm decays to Tc Gamma rays are often emitted with alpha or beta radiation also, as the nucleus decays to a less excited state. Apart from the normal measures of mass and volume, the amount of radioactive material is given in becquerel Bq , a measure which enables us to compare the typical radioactivity of some natural and other materials.

Though the intrinsic radioactivity is the same, the radiation dose received by someone handling a kilogram of high grade uranium ore will be much greater than for the same exposure to a kilogram of separated uranium, since the ore contains a number of short-lived decay products see section on Radioactive Decay.

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This element is a gas at room temperature and was used in World War One as a poisonous attack weapon because of its high reactivity with human lungs. These two atoms were made for one another. Sodium atoms readily give up the single electron in the outermost orbital. This electron is immediately picked up by a chlorine atom and fitted into the last empty space in its outermost orbital. Now both atomic arrangements are much more stable. They both have outermost orbitals which are filled with electrons.

However, there is a price to be paid for this stability. In giving up an electron, the sodium atom has lost a negative electrical charge. It still has all its positively charged protons, so the remaining structure is no longer electrically neutral. Similarly, the chorine atom has picked up this extra negative charge and no extra protons, so it is now carrying a net negative charge -. These new atomic arrangements are called ions , and the process of electron exchange is called ionization.

As you move to the higher periods, there are a small number of protons compared to neutrons. The nucleus is held together by the strong nuclear force , but this force works only at extremely small distances. In smaller period elements e. However, in larger period elements e. The strong nuclear force can no longer hold the nucleus together.

When the proton:neutron ratio is less than or greater than 1. When protons-neutron pairs fall off, that is called alpha -decay and has a positive charge. Sometimes, energy is given off as the nucleus tries to become more stable. This energy is called gamma radiation and does not have a charge.

Ions are electrically unstable and are quick to form chemical bonds. Atoms with unstable nuclei emit radiation until the nuclei become stable.

To better understand unstable atoms, it helps to appreciate what constitutes stability. In the familiar planetary model, an atom consists of a nucleus of heavy positively charged particles, called protons, and electrically neutral ones called neutrons. Orbiting the nucleus is a cloud of lighter, negatively charged electrons. Protons and electrons have equal and opposite charges.

When the atom is stable, it has a net electrical charge of 0, meaning that the number of protons equals the number of electrons. The nucleus is also balanced, in that the number of protons equals the number of neutrons. Such an atom isn't inert. It can still combine with others to form chemical compounds, and its propensity for doing so depends on the number of its valence electrons, or those electrons that can be shared with other atoms.