| A | B |
|---|
| strong force | causes protons and neutrons to be attracted to each other |
| radioactivity | process of nuclear decay |
| alpha particle | made of two protons and two neutrons |
| transmutation | the process of changing one element to another through nuclear decay |
| beta particle | electron is emitted from the nucleus |
| gamma ray | electromagnetic waves with the highest frequencies and the shortest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum |
| half-life | the amount of time it takes for half the nuclei in a radioactive isotope to decay |
| cloud chamber | can be used to detect alpha or beta particle radiation |
| bubble chamber | holds a super heated liquid which doesn't boil because the pressure in teh chamber is high |
| Geiger counter | a device that measures the amount of radiation by productin an electric current when it detects a charged particle |
| nuclear fission | the process of splitting a nucleus into several smaller nuclei |
| chain reaction | series of repeated fission reactions caused by the release of neutrons in each reaction |
| critical mass | the amount of meterial required so that each fission reaction produces approximately one more fission reaction |
| nuclear fusion | two nuclei with low masses are combined to form one nucleus of larger mass |
| tracer | a radioisotope is used to find or keep track of molecules in an organism |
