Question

An atomic nucleus having low $n/p$ ratio tries to find stability by

• A. the emission of an $\alpha$ particle
• B. the emission of a positron
• C. capturing an orbital electron (K-electron capture)
• D. emission of a $\beta$ particle

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

Emission of a positron results in the conversion of a proton into neutron, along with the release of neutrino. Thus, the number of protons decreases and of neutron increases, i.e., $n/p$ ratio increases and the nuclei becomes stable.
$\underset{\text{Proton}}{{}_1^{1}H}⟶\underset{\text{Neutron }}{{}_0^{1}n}+\underset{\text{Positron}}{{}_{+1}{e}^0}+v$