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alpha particle

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
alpha particle
n.
A positively charged particle, indistinguishable from a helium atom nucleus and consisting of two protons and two neutrons.
alpha particle
n
(Physics / General Physics) a helium-4 nucleus, containing two neutrons and two protons, emitted during some radioactive transformations
alpha particle
A positively charged particle that consists of two protons and two neutrons bound together. It is emitted by an atomic nucleus undergoing radioactive decay and is identical to the nucleus of a helium atom. Because of their relatively large mass, alpha particles are the slowest and least penetrating forms of nuclear radiation. They can be stopped by a piece of paper. See more at radioactive decay.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.alpha particle - a positively charged particle that is the nucleus of the helium atom; emitted from natural or radioactive isotopes
subatomic particle, particle - a body having finite mass and internal structure but negligible dimensions


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? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
[alpha]] is the propagation direction of the alpha particle, followed by ([alpha], n) reactions, can lead to false asymmetries in the CsI detectors, estimated at the 2 X [10.
Measurement of parity violation in np capture: the NPDGamma experiment by Zhu, H. / Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
Each of those putative atoms of element 115 disintegrated within fractions of a second by spontaneously ejecting an alpha particle, which contains two protons and two neutrons.
Two new elements made: atom smashups yield 113 and 115 by Weiss, P. / Science News
2 MeV (an acknowledged overestimate because of the infinitely thick source geometry), we calculated a radiation dose rate averaged over a 50-[micro]m tissue thickness surrounding the implant (adequate to capture all of the alpha particle energy emitted by both uranium- and thorium-series isotopes) to be 4.
Implanted depleted uranium fragments cause soft tissue sarcomas in ... by Hoover, Mark D. / Environmental Health Perspectives
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