For example lead, lead-206 has 82 protons and has 124 neutrons. Nuclei with too many, or too few, neutrons do exist naturally but are unstable and will disintegrate (or decay) by emitting radiation.

Detailed evaluations of alpha decay half‐lives using traditional techniques have provided essential benchmarks, demonstrating the delicate balance between the nuclear attractive forces and the ...

Darmstadt team member Stefan Typel has calculated that alpha particles should form in the neutron-rich skins of heavy nuclei. Now, his prediction has been confirmed by his colleagues who used the 392 ...