Decay
Phosphorus has a short half-life of 14.29 days and decays into sulfur-32 by beta decay as shown in this nuclear equation:
-
32
15P→ 32
16S1++ e− + ν
e
1.709 MeV of energy is released during the decay. The kinetic energy of the electron varies with an average of approximately 0.5 MeV and the remainder of the energy is carried by the nearly undetectable electron antineutrino. In comparison to other beta radiation-emitting nuclides the electron is moderately energetic. It is blocked by around 1 m of air or 5 mm of perspex.
The sulfur-32 nucleus produced is in the ground state so there is no additional gamma ray emission.
Read more about this topic: Phosphorus-32
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