If the definition of an element is a chemical substance that cannot be broken down into other substances, then aren’t the radioactive elements just extra-spicy lead?
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That’s not the definition of an element. There are in fact, a LOT of particles smaller than elemental atoms once you start breaking things down.
An element is a type of atom (protons+neutrons bound together, orbited by electrons). The element of an atom is defined by the number of protons in its nucleus.
I think you are thinking of one of the defintions of an atom. The one that said an atom is the smallest piece an element can be and still be that element.
You can still break atoms down into smaller atoms or parts, but then they are not the same element anymore.
All elements, including lead, can be broken down. Lead nuclei can be split as well! An element is just a clumping of protons and neutrons together, and the “element” just describes how many protons are in that clump. Hydrogen is a single proton, so it can’t be split exactly like larger elements, but a proton is ultimately composed of smaller particles called quarks, so even that can be broken down.
1. That’s not the definition of an element.
2. Radioactive elements don’t all decay into lead.
Basically, both premises of your question are false. Radioactive elements aren’t any different than other distinct elements. They have distinct chemical properties similar to stable elements. It’s only when they undergo radioactive decay and transmute into another element that their chemical properties change.
Your definition is missing a key part. An element is a chemical substance that cannot be broken down * in a chemical reaction *. Nuclear decay is not a chemical reaction, so the definition holds.
The definition you used is incomplete. An element cannot be broken down into anything simpler by chemical means.
Nuclear decay isn’t a chemical process.
You are thinking of the chemical definition rather than the physics definition. The chemical definition of an element is only made of the same type of atom.
In physics, an element is defined by how many protons the nucleus has. There are also many isotopes of an element. These have a different number of neutrons.
You then have ions with different number of electrons however these are completely ignored in nuclear physics.
Isotopes decay because they are unstable, inside the nucleus the electromagnetic force is trying to tear it apart and the strong force is keeping it together.
There are many stable isotopes along the chain. And lead is the one most commonly hit upon by heavy elements like Uranium. Once it reaches a stable isotope, the decay chain stops
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