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... which is why it's called ionizing radiation, removing an electron (or adding it in the case of beta decay) turns neutral atoms into ions.
by bonzini 3y ago
... which is why it's called ionizing radiation, removing an electron (or adding it in the case of beta decay) turns neutral atoms into ions.
- eigenket 3y agoIn general yes. In this specific case not entirely, because once the radiating nucleus has undergone positron emission it has turned one of its protons into a neutron, which means it now needs one less electron in order to form a neutral atom. The "spare" electron can wander off and replace (eventually, on average) the electron that gets annihilated by the positron.