88 Alpha particles
liver. Subsequently, increased concentrations were noted in the
amniotic fluid and maternal serum of pregnant women carrying
a fetus affected by an open-neural-tube defect. Thus, screening
of maternal serum is now routine.
While the majority of pregnant women having a high concen-
tration of serum alpha fetoprotein experience normal pregnan-
cies, others manifest various problems, including multiple fetuses
and placental abnormalities, or defects. Further, about one out of
three pregnancies in which alpha fetoprotein is increased has an
adverse outcome, including fetal growth retardation, low birth
weight, and increased perinatal mortality. In pregnancies where
the fetus is affected by trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), there is
lower concentration of alpha fetoprotein than usual. See DOWN
SYNDROME. [A.B.]
Alpha particles Helium nuclei, which are abundant
throughout the universe both as radioactive-decay products and
as key participants in stellar fusion reactions. Alpha particles can
also be generated in the laboratory, either by ionizing helium or
from nuclear reactions. They expend their energy rapidly as they
pass through matter, primarily by taking part in ionization pro-
cesses, and consequently have short penetration ranges. Numer-
ous technological applications of alpha particles can be found
in fields as diverse as medicine, space exploration, and geol-
ogy. Alpha particles are also major factors in the health concerns
associated with nuclear waste and other radiation hazards.
The helium nucleus, or alpha particle (α), with mass 4.00150
atomic mass units (u) and charge +2, is a strongly bound cluster
of two protons (p) and two neutrons (n). Its stability is evident
from mass-energy conservation in the hypothetical fusion re-
action 2 p + 2n → α. The product mass (= 4.00150 u) is less
than the reactant mass (= 2 × 1.00728 u + 2 × 1.00866 u) by
0.03038 u. By using Einstein’s relation E = mc2 (where c is the
speed of light), this decrease in mass m (the alpha-particle bind-
ing energy) is equivalent to 28.3 MeV of energy E. The enormous
magnitude of this energy is reflected in the fact that the fusion
transformation of hydrogen into helium is the main process re-
sponsible for the Sun’senergy. See CONSERVATION OF ENERGY; EN-
ERGY; HELIUM; NUCLEAR BINDING ENERGY; PROTON-PROTON CHAIN;
STELLAR EVOLUTION.
Alpha radioactivity. Coulombic repulsion between the pro-
tons within a nucleus leads to increasingly larger ratios of neu-
tron number N to proton number Z for stable nuclei, as the mass
numbers increase. Neutron-deficient nuclei can improve their
N/Z ratios by means of alpha decay. The decay occurs because
the parent nucleus has a total mass greater than the sum of the
masses of the daughter nucleus and the alpha particle. The en-
ergy converted from mass energy to kinetic energy, called the Q
value, is shared between the daughter nucleus and the alpha par-
ticle in accordance with the conservation of momentum. Thus,
each radioactive alpha-emitting nuclide emits the alpha with a
characteristic kinetic energy, which is one fingerprint in identifi-
cation of the emitter. See NUCLEAR REACTION; RADIOACTIVITY.
There are three major natural series, or chains, through which
isotopes of heavy elements decay by successions of alpha de-
cays. Within these series, and with all reaction-produced alpha
emitters as well, each isotope decays with a characteristic half-life
and emits alpha particles of particular energies and intensities.
The presence of these radioactive nuclides in nature depends
upon either a continuous production mechanism, for example
the interaction of cosmic rays with the atmosphere, or extremely
long half-lives of heavy radioactive nuclides produced in past cat-
aclysmic astrophysical events, which accounts for uranium and
thorium ores in the Earth. The relative abundances of uranium-
238, uranium-235, and their stable final decay products in ores
of heavy elements can be used to calculate the age of the ore,
and presumably the age of the Earth. See GEOCHRONOMETRY.
In addition to the study of alpha-particle emitters that appear
in nature, alpha decay has provided a useful tool to study ar-
tificial nuclei, which do not exist in nature due to their short
half-lives. Alpha decay is a very important decay mode for nu-
clei far from stability with a ratio of protons to neutrons that is too
large to be stable, especially for nuclei with atomic mass greater
than 150 u. Because of the ease of detecting and interpreting
decay alpha particles, their observation has aided tremendously
in studying these nuclei far from stability, extending the study of
nuclei to the very edge of nuclear existence. Nuclear structure in-
formation for more than 400 nuclides has been obtained in this
way. In addition, fine structure peaks appear in the alpha-particle
spectra for many of these nuclides; each such fine structure peak
gives similar information about an excited state in the daughter
nucleus.
Interactions with matter. By virtue of their kinetic energy,
double positive charge, and large mass, alpha particles follow
fairly straight paths in matter, interacting strongly with atomic
electrons as they slow down and stop. These electrons may be
excited to higher energy states in their host atoms, or they may be
ejected, forming ion pairs in which the initial host atom becomes
positively charged and the electron leaves. The more energetic
ejected electrons, known as delta electrons, cause considerable
secondary ionization, which accounts for 60–80% of the total
ionization. A cascade of processes occurs along the alpha parti-
cle’s track, leading to tens of thousands of disruptive events per
alpha particle. See RADIATION DAMAGE TO MATERIALS.
The amount of energy expended by an alpha particle to form
a single ion pair in passing through a medium is nearly inde-
pendent of the alpha particle’s energy, but it depends strongly
on the absorbing medium. While it takes about 35 eV in air and
43 eV in helium to form an ion pair, an energy of only 2.9 eV
is required in germanium and 3.6 eV in silicon. The energies
expended in gases are roughly correlated to their ionization po-
tentials. For germanium, silicon, and other semiconductors, the
lower ion pair energy is, effectively, the amount required to raise
an electron to the conduction band. See IONIZATION POTENTIAL;
SEMICONDUCTOR.
The distance (or range) that an alpha particle travels before it
stops depends both on the energy of the particle and on the ab-
sorbing medium. The passage of alpha particles through silicon
is a particularly important example. The semiconductor industry
now produces chips so small that alpha particles from contami-
nants in the packaging materials can disrupt the memory-array
areas of the chips, a serious problem which has been researched
in considerable detail. See INTEGRATED CIRCUITS; RADIATION HARD-
ENING.
In biological systems, the ionization and excitation produced
by alpha particles can damage or kill cells. By rupturing chemical
bonds and forming highly reactive free radicals, alpha particles
can be far more destructive than other forms of radiation which
interact less strongly with matter. See CHARGED PARTICLE BEAMS;
RADIATION CHEMISTRY; RADIATION INJURY (BIOLOGY).
Applications. In the promising medical field of charged-
particle radiotherapy, alpha particles are useful in the treat-
ment of inaccessible tumors and vascular disorders. The ionizing
power of alpha particles is concentrated near the ends of their
paths. Thus they can deliver destructive energy to a tumor while
doing little damage to nearby healthy tissue. With proper accel-
eration, positioning, and dosage, the energy can be delivered
so precisely that alpha-particle radiotherapy is uniquely suited
for treating highly localized tumors near sensitive normal tissue
(for example, the spinal cord). See RADIOLOGY.
The element-specific energies of backscattered (Rutherford-
scattered) alpha particles are used in remote probes to analyze
the mineral composition of geological formations. In particu-
lar, alpha particles scattered by light elements transfer more en-
ergy than those scattered by heavy elements. In another alpha-
particle device, the energy from 238Pu alpha decay is reliably
harnessed in batteries based on the Brayton cycle, and used to
power scientific equipment left on the Moon. Large power sys-
tems of this type are contemplated for use in space stations. See
ION-SOLID INTERACTIONS; NUCLEAR BATTERY. [C.Bin.]