Question

What is a negative beta decay?

Answer 1

Well, it is also known as beta-minus decay.

Explanation:

Negative beta decay is one of the two types of beta decay. It is also the one that does not produce any antimatter.

During beta-minus decay, an atom converts one of its neutrons into a proton, while releasing an electron and an antineutrino in the process. This happens when an atom does not have a lot of protons but has a bit too many neutrons.

A simple example would be carbon-`14`. During beta-minus decay, it converts into nitrogen-`14` and releases an electron and an antineutrino in the process. The equation is:

`""_6^14C->""_7^14N+e^(-)+barv`

• `e^-` is an electron

• `barv` is an antineutrino

Note that I included the proton number at the bottom so it was easier to see the difference in the new atom.

During beta-decay, no mass is lost, and the total mass stays constant before and after the reaction.