Beta-Minus Decay
Radioactive decay in which a neutron converts into a proton, emitting an electron and an antineutrino.
Formula / equation
n → p + e⁻ + ν̄
Unit
MeV
In depth
Beta-minus decay occurs in neutron-rich nuclei and raises the atomic number by one while leaving the mass number unchanged. The emitted electron originates in the nucleus, not the electron shells, and beta particles penetrate several millimetres of aluminium.
Examples in the real world
Carbon-14 decaying to nitrogen-14; strontium-90, a hazardous fission product that mimics calcium in bone.