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Reference.org
Decay scheme
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<p>The decay scheme of a <a href="/facts/Radioactive_decay/Ya6FVjt4">radioactive</a> substance is a graphical presentation of all the transitions occurring in a decay, and of their relationships. Examples are shown below. </p><p>It is useful to think of the decay scheme as placed in a coordinate system, where the vertical axis is energy, increasing from bottom to top, and the horizontal axis is the proton number, increasing from left to right. The arrows indicate the emitted particles. For the <a href="/facts/Gamma_decay/5Drf913J">gamma rays</a> (vertical arrows), the gamma energies are given; for the <a href="/facts/Beta_decay/vxTBlckp">beta decay</a> (oblique arrow), the maximum beta energy. </p>