Decay Chain Darlings
This radionuclide in the Uranium series was used widely in cosmetics at the beginning of the 20th century.
What is Radium-226?
Aluminum-26 undergoes this decay, with a half-life orders of magnitude longer than commonly encountered.
What is Beta plus(Positron emission)?
In 2025, Walmart frozen shrimp was found to be contaminated with this fission product, which is one of the most concerning contaminants in nuclear fallout.
What is Cesium-137?
Fissile plutonium is formed from decay of this radionuclide, the longer-lived intermediate following neutron activation on fertile U-238.
What is Neptunium-239?
On the entire chart of nuclides, Neodymium-144 emits the lowest energy particle of this type.
What is an alpha particle?
What is Iodine-135?
Despite only making up a tiny fraction of natural Uranium, this isotope accounts for nearly half of its radioactivity.
What is Uranium-234?
Curium-250 is by far the longest-lived radionuclide to decay primarily by this means.
What is spontaneous fission?
Release of this fission product was the reason for the use of potassium iodide tablets in the aftermath of radiological accidents.
What is Iodine-131?
The misnomered Actinium series begins at this shortest-lived primordial radionuclide.
What is Uranium-235?
This fission product is the fabled 'Longest-Lived Delayed Neutron Precursor.'
What is Bromine-87?
This fission product is notable because of its decay product Technitium-99m1, the single most commonly used radionuclide in medicine.
What is Molybdenum-99?
The practically extinct Neptunium series will technically outlive all others by factor of a billion due to decay of this final radionuclide in the chain.
What is Bismuth-209?
Holmium-163 undergoes electron capture with a half-life of 4570 years, but only emits this highly penetrating particle in its 2.5 keV decay.
What is a neutrino?
This common long-lived fission product is also produced in small amounts by neutron activation of the fuel meat.
What is Zirconium-93?
Lawrencium-256 (used to determine ionization energy of Lr)
What is half life of decay chain, where does it end up? See desmos (about 14.12 billion years)