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There are other, much rarer, radioactive decays involving the weak interaction. One is the "beta-plus" decay, in which a proton turns into a neutron, emitting a [[positron]] (antielectron) and an "electron neutrino". This action, by itself, is forbidden by conservation of energy, so it can only occur in nuclei that have unusual energy configurations. Another is the "electron capture" event, in which a proton captures one of the electrons circling the nucleus, turns into a neutron, and emits an electron neutrino. While this is not energetically unbalanced, it requires that an electron get very close to the nucleus, which is extremely rare under the rules of [[quantum mechanics]].
There are other, much rarer, radioactive decays involving the weak interaction. One is the "beta-plus" decay, in which a proton turns into a neutron, emitting a [[positron]] (antielectron) and an "electron neutrino". This action, by itself, is forbidden by conservation of energy, so it can only occur in nuclei that have unusual energy configurations. Another is the "electron capture" event, in which a proton captures one of the electrons circling the nucleus, turns into a neutron, and emits an electron neutrino. While this is not energetically unbalanced, it requires that an electron get very close to the nucleus, which is extremely rare under the rules of [[quantum mechanics]].
==See also==
*[[Systematics of beta decay]]
==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Radioactivity]]
[[Category:Radioactivity]]