Large radio-nuclides emit an alpha particle rather than other combinations of nucleons because the alpha particle has such a stable, tightly bound structure. To confirm this statement, calculate the disintegration energies for these hypothetical decay processes and discuss the meaning of your findings:

(a) ²³⁵U †’ ²³²Th + ³He,

(b) ²³⁵U †’ ²³¹Th + ⁴He.

(c) ²³⁵U †’ ²³⁰Th + ⁵He,

The needed atomic masses are

Transcribed Image Text:

232TH 232.0381 u 231TH 231.0363 u 230TH 230.0331 u 235U 235.0429 u ³He 3.0160 u #He 4.0026 u $He 5.0122 u