Many heavier elements with smaller binding energies per nucleon can decompose into more stable elements that have intermediate mass numbers and larger binding energies per nucleon—that is, mass numbers and binding energies per nucleon that are closer to the “peak” of the binding energy graph near 56. Sometimes neutrons are also produced. This decomposition of a large nucleus into smaller pieces is called fission. The breaking is rather random with the formation of a large...

Nuclear transmutation is the conversion of one nuclide into another. It can occur by the radioactive decay of a nucleus, or the reaction of a nucleus with another particle. The first manmade nucleus was produced in Ernest Rutherford’s laboratory in 1919 by a transmutation reaction, the bombardment of one type of nuclei with other nuclei or with neutrons. Rutherford bombarded nitrogen-14 atoms with high-speed α particles from a natural radioactive isotope of radium and observed...

Atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) is an analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of a sample by analyzing the light emitted from excited atoms. In AES, atoms in a sample are excited to higher energy levels by thermal energy from high-temperature sources, such as plasma, arcs, or sparks. When these excited atoms return to lower energy states, they emit light at specific wavelengths characteristic of each element. The resulting atomic emission spectrum, which consists of...