Am
Actinide
Americium
Z 95A 243mass 243
Slow-motion stage
Americium-241
proton
neutron
alpha particle (2p + 2n)
Parent nucleus · 241 nucleons
95 protons (coral) and 146 neutrons (blue) are packed together and held by the strong force.
A real decay takes about 10⁻²¹ s. At ⅓× this stage stretches it across eleven seconds.
Choose a reaction
Reaction
24195Am23793Np+42He
Two protons and two neutrons leave together as one helium nucleus.
Z
9593
-2
A
241237
-4
n⁰
146144
-2
Energy released
5.64MeV
Alpha particle5.544 MeV
Mass convertedE = Δm c²0.00605 u
In joules9.03 × 10-13 J
Compared with a bonda C–C bond is 3.6 eV≈ 1,566,111 ×
Half-life of Americium-241
432.6 years
A speck of this sits inside most ionisation smoke detectors.
The particle
- Charge
- +2
- Mass
- 4 u
- Speed
- About 5% of the speed of light
- Ionising power
- Very high
- Stopped by
- Stopped by a sheet of paper or dead skin