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In nuclear physics
Nuclear physics

Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei.The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power and nuclear weapons, but the research field is also the basis for a far wider range of applications, including in the medical sector , in materials engineering...
, a decay product, also known as a daughter product, daughter isotope or daughter nuclide, is a nuclide
Nuclide

A nuclide is a species of atom characterized by the constitution of its Atomic nucleus and hence by the number of protons, the number of neutrons, and the energy content of the nucleus....
 resulting from the radioactive decay
Radioactive decay

Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and radiation. This decay, or loss of energy, results in an atom of one type, called the parent nuclide transforming to an atom of a different type, called the daughter nuclide....
 of a parent isotope or precursor nuclide. The daughter product may be stable or it may decay to form a daughter product of its own. The daughter of a daughter product is sometimes called a granddaughter product.

Decay products are extremely important in understanding radioactive decay and the management of radioactive waste
Radioactive waste

Radioactive wastes are waste types containing radioactive decay chemical elements that do not have a practical purpose. They are usually the products of nuclear processes, such as nuclear fission....
.

In practice nearly all decay products are themselves radioactive.






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In nuclear physics
Nuclear physics

Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei.The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power and nuclear weapons, but the research field is also the basis for a far wider range of applications, including in the medical sector , in materials engineering...
, a decay product, also known as a daughter product, daughter isotope or daughter nuclide, is a nuclide
Nuclide

A nuclide is a species of atom characterized by the constitution of its Atomic nucleus and hence by the number of protons, the number of neutrons, and the energy content of the nucleus....
 resulting from the radioactive decay
Radioactive decay

Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and radiation. This decay, or loss of energy, results in an atom of one type, called the parent nuclide transforming to an atom of a different type, called the daughter nuclide....
 of a parent isotope or precursor nuclide. The daughter product may be stable or it may decay to form a daughter product of its own. The daughter of a daughter product is sometimes called a granddaughter product.

Decay products are extremely important in understanding radioactive decay and the management of radioactive waste
Radioactive waste

Radioactive wastes are waste types containing radioactive decay chemical elements that do not have a practical purpose. They are usually the products of nuclear processes, such as nuclear fission....
.

In practice nearly all decay products are themselves radioactive. The result of this is that most radionuclides do not have simply a decay product, but rather a decay chain
Decay chain

In nuclear science, the decay chain refers to the radioactive decay of different discrete radioactive Decay product as a chained series of transformations....
, leading eventually to a stable nuclide. For elements above lead
Lead

Lead is a main-group Chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metal ....
 in atomic number
Atomic number

In chemistry and physics, the atomic number is the number of protons found in the atomic nucleus of an atom. It is conventionally represented by the symbol Z....
, this is nearly always an isotope
Isotope

Isotopes are any of the different types of atoms of the same chemical element, each having a different atomic mass . Isotopes of an element have atomic nucleus with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutron....
 of lead. Lead is generally the stable point at which decay chains stop.

In many cases members of the decay chain are far more radioactive than the original nuclide. Thus, although uranium is not dangerously radioactive when pure, some pieces of naturally-occurring pitchblende
Uraninite

Uraninite is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely uranium dioxide, but also contains uranium trioxide and oxides of lead, thorium, and rare earth elements....
 are quite dangerous owing to their radium
Radium

Radium is a radioactive chemical element which has the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. Its appearance is almost pure white, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, turning black....
 content. Similarly, thorium
Thorium

Thorium is a chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. As a naturally occurring, slightly radioactive metal, it has been considered as an alternative nuclear fuel to uranium....
 gas mantle
Gas mantle

An incandescent gas mantle, gas mantle, or Welsbach mantle is a device for generating bright white light when heated by a flame. The name refers to its original heat source, existing gas lights which filled the street lighting of Europe and North America in the late 19th century, mantle referring to the way it was hung above the f...
s are very slightly radioactive when new, but become far more radioactive after only a few months of storage.

Although it cannot be predicted whether any given atom of a radioactive substance will decay at any given time, the decay products of a radioactive substance are extremely predictable. Because of this, decay products are important to scientists in many fields who need to know the quantity or type of the parent product. Such studies are done to measure pollution levels (in and around nuclear facilities) and for other matters.