decay chain

English

The decay chain of uranium-238. The end result is stable lead-206.

Noun

decay chain (plural decay chains)

1. (nuclear physics) A series of nuclides, such that one nuclide radioactively decays into another, which decays into another, and so on, until a stable nuclide is reached. For example, uranium-238 must undergo eight alpha decays and six beta decays in order to become stable lead-206; intermediate nuclides include uranium-234, radium-226, and radon-222.

Synonyms

• decay series

Translations

Translations

• French: chaîne de désintégration (fr) f
• German: Zerfallsreihe f
• Italian: catena di decadimento f