 Electron capture is sometimes included as a type of beta decay, because the basic nuclear process, mediated by the weak force, is the same.In nuclear physics, beta decay is a type of radioactive decay in which a beta ray (fast energetic electron or positron) and a neutrino are emitted from an atomic nucleus.Electron capture is sometimes called inverse beta decay, though this term usually refers to the interaction of an electron antineutrino with a proton.