Radioactive Decay of Cesium-137
This video shows a sample of cesium-137 being tested for emission of radiation. Nuclei of cesium-137 isotopes are unstable and will undergo a process of radioactive decay to form more stable isotopes. Cesium-137 is formed during fission reactions of uranium-235 in nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons.
The equation that describes the radioactive decay of cesium is shown below. The conversion of a neutron (from the cesium nucleus) to a proton causes the atomic number to increase from 55 to 56. This leads to the formation of barium-137. It's important to notice that the mass number stays the same in examples of beta decay.
The equation that describes the radioactive decay of cesium is shown below. The conversion of a neutron (from the cesium nucleus) to a proton causes the atomic number to increase from 55 to 56. This leads to the formation of barium-137. It's important to notice that the mass number stays the same in examples of beta decay.
137
|
Cs
|
→
|
137
|
Ba
|
+
|
0
|
e
|
55
|
56
|
-1
|
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