Electron capture occurs when a proton in an atom’s nucleus attracts an orbiting electron, causing the atom to decay and become a different element with the same atomic mass. This process requires less energy than other types of radioactivity and usually involves electrons from the K or L electron shells. The captured electron is absorbed by a proton, resulting in a neutron and a neutrino. The child atom will be the element that directly preceded the parent atom on the periodic table. The process releases extra energy in the form of an extra electron, X-ray, and sometimes a gamma ray.
An electron capture occurs within the nucleus of an atom which has many protons and few neutrons. During this process, one of the protons in the atom’s nucleus attracts an orbiting electron and neutralizes both the electron and itself. This causes the atom to decay and become a different element with the same atomic mass. Electron capture does not occur in all elements and does not occur with protons or electrons that are not part of relatively massive atoms.
Atoms can undergo radioactive decay in many different ways, including through the capture of electrons. This process generally occurs in atoms that do not have enough energy to participate in other types of radioactivity, including positron emission, which occurs through a similar process. The amount of energy required to use one of these decay processes is determined by comparing the amount of energy in an atom to the amount in a child atom into which it could decay. Electron-capturing atoms require less energy than other radioactive atoms.
When an atom decays by the electron capture process, it draws one of its own electrons into its nucleus. These electrons are usually taken from the K or L electron shells, which are the two shells closest to the nucleus of the atom. Protons and free electrons cannot interact with each other through the electron capture process.
Once an electron is drawn into the nucleus of the atom, it is absorbed by one of the protons. This proton is said to capture the electron. The reaction that takes place between the proton and the electron causes the neutralization of these two particles, resulting in a neutron and a neutrino, which is a small particle similar to an electron but with no charge. The neutron remains in the nucleus of the atom while the neutrino is ejected from the atom.
After an electron capture occurs, the atom is a different element than it started out with. This child atom will be the element that directly preceded the parent atom on the periodic table because it will have one less proton in its nucleus and atoms are defined by the number of protons they have. Changing one element to another causes the atom to be excited. This extra energy is released through the release of an extra electron, an X-ray, and sometimes a gamma ray. The release of x-rays and gamma rays are what make the electron capture process radioactive.
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