Understanding Nuclear Decay: A Key Concept in Radiation Safety

Nuclear decay is quite a fascinating process, wouldn’t you say? At its core, it’s defined as “an unstable nucleus releasing energy,” a simple yet profound statement that captures the essence of what happens when atomic nuclei find themselves in a state of turmoil. Picture an unstable tire on a car—the moment you hit a bump, it might just lose air, right? In this case, the air release (or in our analogy, the energy) signifies something crucial: a transformation from chaos to stability. Let’s unravel this concept a bit more!