Alpha decay | Physics | Khan Academy

During alpha decay, a large, unstable parent nucleus becomes a smaller daughter nucleus. It does this by emitting an alpha particle, a clump of two protons and two neutrons (a He-4 nucleus). The nucleus's atomic number decreases by two, and its mass number decreases by four. The alpha particle is high-energy ionizing radiation—it travels at high speed because it carries away the majority of the energy lost by the nucleus during the decay.

Sections:
00:00 - Intro
00:43 - Why are heavy nuclei unstable?
03:50 - What is alpha decay?
05:44 - Alpha decay examples
08:31 - How smoke detectors work

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[imaan]

why am i only now discovering this channel when there's only two days left in my final exam😭 this was such a great explanation man:( hopefully i don't have physics next year(if i pass this time lol) but i wish i found this channel sooner

[jimboase]

Another great video. I studies Physics, Chemistry and Maths at university many years ago but have forgotten most of it through lack of practice since then. These videos have renewed my interest in it.

[avachen]

Came to this video after missing a Jeopardy question where the answer was "Alpha particle". This is a great video - thank you for it!!

[ankurec]

So is alpha decay basically a way to get electricity without burning fossil fuels?

[azinhagaemilia]

I watched all of the videos and got a 9.5/10 in my test. Thank you

[aayamshrestha]

Love u FloatHeadPhysics @Mahesh_Shenoy. Your videos are amazing.

[ikechukwukelvin]

Can you explain how the helium nuclei pick up electrons to become neutral atoms 9:22

[madhurjya.]

quick point nuclear forces are charge independent

[carlosvellu]

I'm just curious where the strong nuclear force came from ..I know it's an attractive force but how did it came to be at the first place.

[sinekonata]

Well my smoke detector goes off without any smoke, I guess it's past its shelf half-life xD
I mean, for such an overkill complex system, you'd expect it to perform better, I just thought it was an interrupted electromagnetic beam that sounded the alarm...

[SharayuMulay]

But if the electron number is not changing then how is the atomic number changing? I don't really get it

[ENVXITY]

Yo don't inhale smoke detector fumes
That thing kills man















Yoo don't do that last part i
inserted the smoke detector in my nose it almost killed me

[Kritisingh-vq]

Yaar mero language samjh m nhi aa raha h 😂😂