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radioactivity

Process by which an unstable atom emits radiation

EntityQ11448

Also known as radioactive decay · nuclear decay

Subclass of: physical process
, physical phenomenon

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Radioactive decay is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is considered radioactive. Three of the most common types of decay are alpha, beta, and gamma decay. The weak force is the mechanism that is responsible for beta decay, while the other two are governed by the electromagnetic and nuclear forces.

Overview

All data

82 statements · 17% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Unicode character: ☢
Has characteristic: decay mode
Discovered by: Antoine Henri Becquerel
Different from: activity
Class of object(s) of occurrence: atomic nucleus

On other databases

62 identifiers linking radioactivity across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

17%

externally sourced

Source last edited October 8, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). radioactivity (Q11448). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/radioactivity-Q11448