What is the decay mode of Am-241?

The first decay product of americium-241 is neptunium-237, which also decays and forms other daughter elements. The decay process continues until stable bismuth is formed. The radiation from the decay of americium-241 and its daughters is in the form of alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays.

What is the decay mode for nitrogen 16?

beta decay
Nitrogen-16 is an isotope of nitrogen generated by neutron activation of oxygen contained in the water. It has a short half-life of 7.1 sec and it decays via beta decay.

What is the decay constant of americium-241?

5.07 x 10−11s
Americium-241 has a decay constant of 5.07 x 10−11s−1.

What is the half-life of Am-241?

Its most stable isotope, americium-243, has a half-life of over 7,500 years, although americium-241, with a half-life of 470 years, was the first isotope to be isolated.

Why is AM-241 used in smoke alarms?

Ionization smoke detectors use americium as a source of alpha particles. Alpha particles from the americium source ionize air molecules. This makes some particles positively charged and some negatively charged. Because of this shielding, the smoke detector poses no radiation health risk when they are properly handled.

What mode of decay is americium-241 if it decays into neptunium-237?

α emission
The isotope of americium used in smoke detectors is americium-241, which decays by α emission to neptunium-237 with a half-life of 432.2 years.

How is nitrogen-16 produced?

Production of nitrogen-16 through the capture of a neutron by the nucleus of an oxygen atom: oxygen-16 + neutron —> nitrogen-16 + proton (abbreviated as 16O(n, p)16N). Nitrogen-16 has a short (7-second) half-life and is primarily a hazard to workers at nuclear plants.

What are the uses of nitrogen-16?

Nitrogen 16

• Dienes.
• Antibiotic.
• Aquaculture.
• Cooling Water.
• Cultivation.
• Hydrogen.
• Nitrogen.
• Phosphorus.

Is americium-241 unstable?

Americium-241 is an unstable isotope. Therefore, as americium decays, it releases radiation and forms “daughter” elements.

Why is AM 241 used in smoke alarms?

How is americium-241 produced?

Americium-241 is produced in nuclear power plants during activation of 239Pu and 240Pu by neutrons, which is followed by beta decay of 241Pu (T1/2 = 14.35 years). This means that also in burned-up fuel 241Am is produced by decay of 241Pu a long time after the fuel is removed from a nuclear reactor.

Which element is formed when an alpha particle is emitted from americium-241?

neptunium-237
An alpha particle is made up of two protons and two neutrons bound together, which is the equivalent of a helium-4 nucleus. In the process of emitting the alpha particle, the americium-241 atom becomes a neptunium-237 atom.

What is the equation for the decay of americium-241?

For example, the radionuclide americium-241 (241 Am) decays by alpha-particle emission to yield the daughter nuclide 237 Np according to the following equation: (1.1) 95 241 A m → 93 237 N p + 2 4 H e + 5 ⋅ 63 MeV

How do you write the formula for alpha decay?

Alpha Decay Formula In general, the following is the way to write the formula for alpha decay: (_{Z}^{A}textrm{X}rightarrow _{Z-2}^{A-4}textrm{X’}+_{2}^{4}textrm{α})

What is the use of 241 Am in nuclear reactor?

The obtained 241 Am can be used for generating heavier americium isotopes by further neutron capture inside a nuclear reactor. In a light water reactor (LWR), 79% of neutron captures on 241 Am convert to 242 Am and 10% to its nuclear isomer 242m Am:

Does americium 241 undergo fission or fission?

The least common (rarest) type of decay that americium-241 undergoes is spontaneous fission, with a branching ratio of 4×10−12 and happening 1.2 times a second per gram of 241Am.