The last period of the periodic table.
The one line with the most weird , long and a pain to pronounce names , the elements could have < I mean, pls "Who the heck thought up 'Roentgerium' or ' Darmstadtium' ?" >
It also happens to be the most overlooked period in most of our chemistry textbooks, mainly because they show properties which all the other elements in the table don't exhibit. This period mostly contains the radioactive elements.
<But! Radioactive elements are not limited to the 7th period, there are many scattered throughtout the table >
What are Radioactive elements in the first place?
These are the elements which have too much nuclear charge, causing the nucleus to become too unstable. This causes the nucleus to go through radioactive decay to form a more stable nuclei.
And the one of the interesting parts of this process is it defies all logic we have known till now,
Oxygen can't convert into Nitrogen, Aluminium can't convert into gold (unless you are into Alchemy ,that is)
Atoms of an element are different in most aspects to the atoms of another. (A modified version of the Dalton's atomic theory)
That's common sense right?
What if I said it's not always true?
Nope, It has nothing to with the sorcerer's stone ( sadly). This crazy behaviour is what Radioactive elements exhibit
Radioactive decay
These unstable elements of atomic nuclei with excess nuclear charge will produce an impulsive release of radiations. The unstable elements release radiations to achieve stability. The three types of radiations emitted by these elements are alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays.
Alpha decay
A throw back to our dear old Rutherford and his obsession with gold foils indeed.
Alpha decay is the process through which the radioactive element 'breaks down' to release a nucleus of Helium (aka Alpha particle). In this process the radioactive element ejects two protons and two neutrons, converting into another atom. Atomic mass decreases by four and atomic number by two
For example :-
Beta decay
This is the process in which the neutrons of the nucleus convert into protons or vice versa. If a proton is converted to a neutron, it is known as β+ decay. Similarly, if a neutron is converted to a proton, it is known as β– decay.
Due to the change in the nucleus, a beta particle is emitted. The beta particle is a high-speed electron when it is a β– decay and a positron when it is a β+ decay ( click on the word to know more about it) This finally leads to change in the net +ve charge of the particle.
For example:-
Gamma decay
We have learnt about the emission of electromagnetic waves ( and spectral lines) by electron as they jump from a higher energy level to lower, what if the nucleus also follows pursuit?
Processes involving the nucleus, like the alpha decay, beta decay etc, causes nucleus to have more energy than normal and the nucleus too has its own energy levels. As it falls from a high energy level to lower, extra energy is dissipated in the form of gamma radiations ( high energy photons). In this process, unlike the alpha and beta decay, there is no physical conversions in the nucleus.
and those are the major processes through which one element can convert into another element!
Now to end this blog with a meme..
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