Why is it the neutron that can cause the decay of a heavy nucleus?
August 30, 2020 | Education
| The reason is that moving electrons have insufficient energy to carry out a nuclear reaction. Positively charged protons or a-particles repel from a positively charged nucleus. In this regard, protons or a-particles must be accelerated in an electromagnetic field. Neutrons, having no electrical charge, can freely penetrate into the nuclei of atoms and cause their transformations.
