Does beta decay create ions?

I have done lots of equations and all of them end up saying that beta decay creates either a cation of an anion is this correct?

1 Answer
Mark C.
Nov 30, 2017

No, it doesn’t. Beta decay is a nuclear reaction, not an electronic one.

Explanation:

Beta decay (more precisely beta-minus, #beta^-#, decay) is the effect caused by a neutron “splitting” into a proton, an electron and an anti-neutrino.

There is no effect on the orbiting electrons, though the beta particle emitted may cause the production of ions in other atoms (it is ionising radiation.)

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