Physics – 5.2.3 Radioactive decay | e-Consult

Alpha decay is a spontaneous process because the nucleus of Uranium-238 is unstable. This instability arises from an imbalance in the number of protons and neutrons within the nucleus, leading to a high potential energy state. The nucleus seeks to achieve a more stable configuration by emitting an alpha particle (which consists of 2 protons and 2 neutrons). This emission reduces the number of protons and neutrons, thereby lowering the potential energy and increasing stability. The process is spontaneous because the nucleus naturally tends towards a lower energy state.

The exact time at which a particular nucleus will decay is unpredictable due to the inherent randomness of quantum mechanics. Radioactive decay is a probabilistic process; we can only predict the probability of a nucleus decaying within a given time period (half-life), but we cannot determine when a specific nucleus will decay. Each nucleus has a certain probability of decaying at any given instant, and this probability is independent of the decay of other nuclei.