Understanding Beta Decay
Beta decay is a type of radioactive decay where a neutron in the nucleus transforms into a proton, emitting an electron (beta particle) and an antineutrino. This results in:
* Atomic Number (Number of Protons) Increases by 1: This changes the element.
* Mass Number (Number of Protons + Neutrons) Stays the Same: The total number of nucleons (protons and neutrons) remains constant.
Applying It to Uranium-239 (²³⁹U)
* Uranium (U) has an atomic number of 92.
* After beta decay, the atomic number increases to 93.
* The mass number remains at 239.
The New Element
The element with atomic number 93 is Neptunium (Np).
Therefore, the new element created by a single beta decay of ²³⁹U is Neptunium-239 (²³⁹Np).
