With the wrong number of neutrons, nuclei can fall apart. A nucleus will regain stability by emitting alpha or beta particles and then ‘cool down’ by emitting gamma radiation.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PLDoryZSIouvSn-W1RrpkMuVs9BIu-sDa9&v=UYvx0O8itMA&layout=gallery[/embedyt]Stable nuclei
An atom’s nucleus can only be stable if it has a certain amount of neutrons for the amount of protons it has.
Elements with fewer protons, such as the ones near the top of the periodic table, are stable if they have the same number of neutrons and protons. For example carbon, carbon-12 is stable and has six protons and six neutrons.
However as the number of protons increases, more neutrons are needed to keep the nucleus stable. For example lead, lead-206 has 82 protons and has 124 neutrons.
Nuclei with too many, or too few, neutrons do exist naturally but are unstable and will decay by emitting radiation.
