Unlike a weak decay mechanism, this decay conserves both total atomic number and total atomic charge.
The formula for the energy release generated by this process contains a constant offset of 28.3 MeV [read: mega-electron-volts]. In stars, beryllium-8 undergoes this process, providing the necessary ingredients for the production of stellar carbon. Gamow's model of this process posited that the introduction of a Coulomb potential to the nucleus raised the energy of a certain particle, allowing it to tunnel out, and explains the exponential dependence of decay rate as a function of energy released. Unlike a weak decay mechanism, this decay conserves both total atomic number and total atomic charge. A form of spontaneous fission, for 10 points, identify this decay mechanism whereby a heavy atom decays into a lighter one by emitting this mechanism's namesake particle, a helium nucleus.
The formula for the energy release generated by this process contains a constant offset of 28.3 MeV [read: mega-electron-volts].
alpha decay [prompt on "triple alpha"]