- #1
Matt-235
- 17
- 2
Okay, so one of my hall mates across the way asked this question about his Chemistry, and then I realized that I wasn't too sure why it was myself, so I figured I'd pass this on to you.
Take the decay equation
[tex]
{}^{24}_{11}Na \rightarrow {}^{24}_{12}Mg + {}^0_{-1}\beta
[/tex]
His question pertained to the overall charge of the nuclide in question. He mentioned that since a neutron is converting to a proton, there should be a net charge of +1 now on the Magnesium (since the [itex]{}^{0}_{-1}\beta[/itex] comes from the conversion of a netron into the proton, that doesn't get factored in). Is it just that the charge is irrelevant to the decay that it's not bothered to be included?
Take the decay equation
[tex]
{}^{24}_{11}Na \rightarrow {}^{24}_{12}Mg + {}^0_{-1}\beta
[/tex]
His question pertained to the overall charge of the nuclide in question. He mentioned that since a neutron is converting to a proton, there should be a net charge of +1 now on the Magnesium (since the [itex]{}^{0}_{-1}\beta[/itex] comes from the conversion of a netron into the proton, that doesn't get factored in). Is it just that the charge is irrelevant to the decay that it's not bothered to be included?