Does charge change during positron or beta emission?

[sangria1986]

Does charge of an atom change during positron or beta or alpha emission? Also what is electron capture

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[pmahesh107]

The "charge" doesn't change during radiation - unless by charge, you are refering to the number of protons. Instead of trying to memorize it, just think about balancing both sides. For electron capture, the atom will "capture an electron", meaning it has to go down in atomic number for both sides of the equation to be balanced.

 

[sangria1986]

The "charge" doesn't change during radiation - unless by charge, you are refering to the number of protons. Instead of trying to memorize it, just think about balancing both sides. For electron capture, the atom will "capture an electron", meaning it has to go down in atomic number for both sides of the equation to be balanced.

Yah I just realized that-the proton and neutron interconvert so there's no net charge. But electron capture then is same as positron emission?

 

[cwfergus]

Not the same thing, but same effect --> Atomic number goes down 1

Yah I just realized that-the proton and neutron interconvert so there's no net charge. But electron capture then is same as positron emission?