Agreed, beta decay of D would be endothermic and slow. deuterium beta decay threshold deuterium mass = 1875.6 MeV two protons = 1876.5 MeV electron mass = .511 MeV Energy yield = -1.46 MeV
This probably means that a deuterium atom must have at least ~1.5 MeV of kinetic energy to decay into two protons. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] Hi, >I have seen deuterium listed as "unstable" but with a half life much longer >than 10^10 years. In that case, the slight instability could relate to the >Oppenheimer-Phillips effect. How anyone can be sure of that is a mystery. > I don't see how D could be unstable. It would have to decay either into two protons or two neutrons, and either path would be endothermic. Bi on the other hand is obvious. It should be unstable to alpha decay with an energy release of 3.5 MeV. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/Project.html
