Chemistry / Unit 12 Chem 2516 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Twin: Positron Emission and Electron Capture
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The idea
Positron emission and electron capture both convert a proton to a neutron, emitting a positron or absorbing an electron, mass unchanged, atomic number down one.
In practice
Oxygen-15 undergoes positron emission to form nitrogen-15; potassium-40 undergoes electron capture to argon-40 — same outcome, opposite mechanisms.
Where people slip
These are twins: identical mass and atomic-number change, by different mechanisms — the equation alone cannot show which occurred.
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