At
Halogen

Astatine

Z 85A 210mass 210

Slow-motion stage

Astatine-210

proton
neutron
alpha particle (2p + 2n)

Parent nucleus · 210 nucleons

85 protons (coral) and 125 neutrons (blue) are packed together and held by the strong force.

illustrative nucleus

A real decay takes about 10⁻²¹ s. At ⅓× this stage stretches it across eleven seconds.

Choose a reaction

Reaction

21085At20683Bi+42He

Two protons and two neutrons leave together as one helium nucleus.

Z
8583
-2
A
210206
-4
n⁰
125123
-2

Energy released

5.20MeVtypical value
Alpha particle5.101 MeV
Mass convertedE = Δm c²0.00558 u
In joules8.33 × 10-13 J
Compared with a bonda C–C bond is 3.6 eV≈ 1,444,444 ×

Measured alpha energies fall between 4 and 9 MeV.

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