Talk:Alpha particle

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Here is the common convention for people who work in the radiation protection field.

  • alpha -
  • beta - particle
  • gamma - ray (photon emited from the nucleus)
  • X-ray - ray

Contents

[edit] Rays vs. particles

Since Alpha radiation is known to be a couple of protons and neutrons, why should this entry be under Alpha Rays? Surely it should be a redirect to Alpha Particles? -- Dave McKee

A ray is described as a beam of particles, so it is applicable here Albert Einsteins pipe

[edit] Mass-energy equivalence

Given the interconvertability of all matter and energy (have you calculated your de Broglie wavelength recently?), the same argument could be made for any type of ray, radiation, or collection of matter. Perhaps what is needed is a convention to use in naming the entries for the types of rays or radiation that have "trivial" names: alpha, beta, gamma. Whether we make the the modified term "ray" or "radiation" is of no import to me, though I think "particle" would be a stretch, since one never speaks of a gamma particle (a high energy photon) and rarely, if ever, of a beta particle (an electron).

I say call them all "radiation" and make any other entry a redirect. -- dja

[edit] Result of alpha emission

I've added something about what happens to an element when it emits and alpha particle, if anyone finds any flaws in my science feel free to edit it Albert Einsteins pipe

[edit] Lord Kelvin / JJ Thompson?

The article states it as Lord Kelvin's Plum Pudding model, but every other source I know of states it as J.J. Thomson's Plum Pudding model, along with the fact the Lord Kelvin isn't accredited with the model on Wikipedia. Maybe they confused their Thomson?

[edit] Merge

Alpha particles are the exact same thing as a helium-4 nucleus. Is there a reason why we have two articles for the same thing? An alpha ray emplies the He-4 nuclei are in motion, but alpha particle does not. Since alpha ray redirects here, I am not sure what to say. If alpha particle = alpha ray, than they are most certainly both equal to He-4. Thoughts? mastodon 21:20, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

No, it should not be merged. Helium refers to the whole atom, with electrons, while alpha particles are just the nucleus, generally moving at high speed. Helium 4 is an isotope of helium, while an alpha particle is a helium 4 nucleus, samples of pure helium 4 are available, while samples of alpha particle are not. I will remove the merge notice. Polonium 20:45, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ions produced

Could you add how many ions alpha particles produce (per mm of path)? I couldn't find it in the article or anywhere on the internet.

[edit] Mesons

If alpha particles have integral spin and are color-neutral, why are they not considered mesons? What facet of the definition of a mesons excludes larger particles like these?

Aren't mesons made of just two quarks? An alpha particle would have twelve quarks.... RobertAustin 13:15, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Shape of the Alpha Particle

Is the alpha particle shaped like a little sphere, a little tetrahedron, or what? Is the answer to this question even known? If it is known, and someone can provide a source, it would make a nice addition to the article. RobertAustin 13:15, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Penis Nuclei?

I'm not really qualified to edit this article, I was only here to see how far alpha radiation travels in air, but I'm pretty sure there isn't anything called a Penis Nuclei....

If someone can confirm that and edit the article it might be a good idea.

Looks like someone beat me to it. I couldn't find "penis nuclei" in the article. RobertAustin 10:29, 29 November 2006 (UTC)
It was simple vandalism, easily reverted. Shinobu 05:53, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Alpha Penetration and Detection

I was recently reading a discussion on a Yahoo group which led me here due to difficulty reconciling what Geiger-Müller tubes can detect vs. what alpha particles can penetrate. According to the GM tube article, "The usual form of tube is an end-window tube. [...] The mica window type will detect alpha radiation but is more fragile." But, according to this article, "Because of their charge and large mass, alpha particles are easily absorbed by materials and can travel only a few centimeters in air. They can be absorbed by tissue paper or the outer layers of human skin (about 40 micrometres, equivalent to a few cells deep)". If alphas are stopped by tissue paper, how can they possibly penetrate mica? One poster in the Yahoo discussion asserts that since alpha emitters are also gamma emitters, that what GM tubes detect from alpha sources is really only the gamma radiation. Another theory is that they can detect alphas only indirectly, if an alpha impact happens to knock loose an electron (beta particle) from the inside surface of the window. If either of these assertions is true, then I believe a correction to the GM tube article is in order.

Howzit
Alpha particles leave very small holes upon collision with mica. This is a fact. In fact, if you don't believe me, get some radium, put it near some mica and then boil the mica in NaOH. The holes will get bigger. It's a plain, simple fact. Bochum 08:53, 6 August 2007 (UTC)
OK - got a reference for that plain, simple fact? Vsmith 14:23, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

I'm posting this here because I don't know where such a suggestion should be posted in relation to the GM tube article, because the discussion page there just says something about "This article is within the scope of WikiProject Physics..." with nothing about how/where to go about posting a message such as this one.

Will someone please clarify the last part about alpha particles in computer engineering?

Perhaps the definition should be separated from various subtopics such as hisotircal references and reasoning for the nomenclature. Perhaps using subheadings whereby the concept is defined before it's history is described.

As from studied alpha particles have a charge of +2 but the beta particle has a charge of -1, but respectively the gamma particle has a charge of 0.58.107.129.188 08:25, 16 April 2007 (UTC) Dr Mena(MBS) cambridge press

Copied the above to Talk:Geiger-Müller tube. Vsmith 14:29, 6 August 2007 (UTC)