Beta Particles
A nucleus with an unstable ratio of neutrons to
protons may decay through the emission of a high
speed electron called a beta particle. In beta
decay a neutron will split into a positively charged
proton and a negatively charged electron. This
results in a net change of one unit of atomic
number (Z) and no change in the mass number
(A). Beta particles have a negative charge and the
beta particles emitted by a specific radioactive
material will range in energy from near zero up to
a maximum value, which is characteristic of the
particular transformation.