Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store
seo-qna
SearchIcon
banner

What is nuclear stability?

Answer
VerifiedVerified
474.9k+ views
like imagedislike image
Hint: In order to answer the given question, we must have an idea about what nuclear stability is. Nuclear stability refers to the stability of the nucleus of an element. Hence this radiation will not emit any kind of radiations.

Complete answer:
Let us first understand about the nucleus of an atom. Nucleus of an atom contains protons and neutrons. Protons which are present in the atom will repel each other due to the electrostatic force present between them. This repulsion is overcome by the strong nuclear force present between the nuclei. In order to stabilize the nucleus, the neutrons are very important.
Let us now see about nuclear stability. Nuclear stability refers to the stability of the nucleus of an element. Hence this radiation will not emit any kind of radiations. The nucleons which are having high binding energy are found to be more stable. The stability of an isotope can also be determined by calculating the ratio of the neutrons to the protons which are present in the nucleus. When the neutron to the proton ratio is greater than 1 then that nucleus is found to be more stable.

Note:
We have to remember that when the attractive forces are less than the electrostatic repulsion, then the nucleons will become unstable and it will begin to decay.
Radioactive elements will contain unstable nuclei and they will decay readily emitting radiations.