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decay of beryllium-7 decay of hafnium-180 decay of K0 meson Figure 4: The decay of a particle of mass M into two particles the sum of whose rest masses is less than M (see text). fission
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By the method of closed energy cycles, it is possible to use measured radioactive-energy-release (Q) values for alpha and beta decay to calculate the energy release for unmeasured transitions. An illustration is provided by the cycle of four nuclei below: In this cycle, energies from two of the alpha decays and one beta decay are measurable. The unmeasured beta-decay energy for bismuth-211, Qβ−(Bi), is readily calculated because conservation of energy requires the sum of Q values around the cycle to be zero. Thus, Qβ−(Bi) + 7.59 − 1.43 − 6.75 = 0. Solving this equation gives Qβ−(Bi) = 0.59 MeV. ...(100 of 9896 words)

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