Beta decay and conservation

14
Carbon-14 ( 6 C ) undergoes beta decay and emits a high-energy electron in the process. Here is a suggested
(not quite correct) equation for the decay:
14 14 0
6 C → 7 N + −1 e

Check that the equation balances

1. Explain how you can see that electric charge is conserved in this equation.

2. Explain how you can see that the number of nucleons (protons and neutrons are nucleons) is the same on
both sides of the equation.

3. Where does the electron come from?

Check the energy change

So far this is very encouraging – the proposed decay conserves electric charge and the nucleon number stays
the same. Now look at energy conservation. You can work out the energy released in the decay, from the
change in mass during the reaction.
4. Use the data below to work out the change in mass for the equation suggested above. Express the answer
in atomic mass units (u):
me = 0.000549 u

m (carbon-14 nucleus) = 13.999948 u

m (nitrogen-14 nucleus) = 13.999231 u

5. Convert the change in mass to a change in energy in J:

1 u = 1.66 10–27 kg
c = 3.00 108 m s–1

6. Convert the energy in J to energy in keV:

1 eV = 1.60  10–19 J
Experimental data seem to show energy is not conserved
Since the mass of a nitrogen nucleus is about 26 000 times more than the mass of an electron, physicists
assumed that the nucleus hardly recoils when beta decay occurs, so they expected virtually all of this energy to
appear as kinetic energy of the electron. When they measured the kinetic energies of electrons emitted in this
decay they found that they had a spectrum of values from close to zero up to a maximum of about 160 keV.

0
0 160 keV
kinetic energy

7. Why did this pose problems for the law of conservation of energy?

8. Pauli suggested that another unseen particle must be emitted in the decay – what properties must this
particle possess?

9. Why is there a maximum value for the kinetic energy and why is it about 160 keV?

10. How is energy conserved when an electron is emitted with a kinetic energy of 100 keV?