
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Home

Who We Are

What We Do

Nuclear Reactors

Nuclear Materials

Radioactive Waste

Facility Info Finder

Public Involvement

Electronic Reading Room

Radioactive decay

Large unstable atoms can become more stable by emitting radiation. This process is called radioactive decay. This radiation can be emitted in the form of a positively charged ALPHA particle, a negatively charged BETA particle, or GAMMA RAYS or X-RAYS.

Radioactive Decay of an Atom