Nuclear radiation GapFill

Some isotopes are unstable. They can become more stable by undergoing radioactive decay, where they change their properties by emitting a particle or electromagnetic radiation.
The  count-rateactivityhalf-lifedecay constant of a sample is the number of radioactive decays which occur per second, which has units of  hertzbecquerelssievertscuries.
Nuclear decays can't be detected directly, but the radiation emitted during a nuclear decay can.  Loebinger tubesSchuster detectorsThomson-Thompson chambersGeiger-Muller tubes can count the number of radioactive emissions that pass through the detector itself, but cannot detect all of the decays produced by the sample.
The types of radioactive decay are:

•  FusionFissionAlphaBeta decay, which releases a helium-4 nucleus, and reduces the mass number of the nucleus by 4 and the atomic number by 2.
•  FissionBetaAlphaFusion decay, which releases a high-speed electron, and increases the atomic number of the nucleus by 1 but doesn't change the mass number.
•  FissionFusionBetaGamma decay, which releases high-energy electromagnetic radiation, and which doesn't affect the atomic or mass numbers of the nucleus.
•  FusionNeutronGammaFission decay, which releases a neutrally charged subatomic particle, and reduces the mass number of the nucleus by 1 but doesn't change the atomic number.

Nuclear decay is random, so it's impossible to predict when a particular nucleus will decay, but it is possible to use laws of probability to predict how many nuclei will decay in a given time period. The  decay constantactivityemissivityhalf-life of a sample is the time taken for the number of radioactive nuclei in the sample to reduce to half of its original value.
There are lots of hazards associated with nuclear decay.  ContaminationFusionIrradiationFission is when nuclear material gets onto or into another material.  FissionIrradiationFusionContamination is the exposure of a material to radiation.