Beta Particle
Beta particle
An electron emitted by the nucleus of a radioactive atom. The beta particle is produced when a neutron within the nucleus decays into a proton and an electron. Beta particles have greater penetrating power than alpha particles but less than x-ray or gamma rays. Although beta particles can penetrate skin, they travel only a short distance in tissue. Beta rays pose relatively little health hazard, therefore, unless they are ingested into the body. Naturally radioactive materials such as potassium-40, carbon-14, and strontium-90 emit beta particles, as do a number of synthetic radioactive materials.
See also Radioactivity
beta particle
beta particle Energetic electron emitted spontaneously by certain radioactive isotopes. Beta decay results from the breakdown of a neutron to a proton, electron and antineutrino. See also radioactivity
beta particle
be·ta par·ti·cle (also beta ray) • n. Physics a fast-moving electron emitted in radioactive decay.
More From encyclopedia.com
Cathode-ray Tube , cathode ray Radiation emitted by the cathode of a thermionic electron valve containing a gas at low pressure. In 1897 J. J. Thomson identified the ra… Positron , positron •Agamemnon, Memnon •ninon, xenon •noumenon • Trianon • xoanon •organon • Simenon • Maintenon •crampon, kampong, tampon •Nippon • coupon •Akr… Scanning Electron Microscope , scanning electron microscope (SEM) A microscope that operates by scanning a finely focused beam of electrons across the specimen. The reflected elect… Electron Microscopy , The scanning electron microscope (SEM) is an important tool in modern forensic science due to its wide range of applications. SEM allows the rapid an… Electron , The electron is a subatomic (smaller than an atom) particle that carries a single unit of negative electricity. All matter consists of atoms that, in… Arthur Holly Compton , Compton, Arthur Holly
Compton, Arthur Holly
physics.
Arthur Holly Compton, who shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1927 for his discovery of the eff…
About this article
beta particle
All Sources -
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
beta particle