TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Fundamentals of Nuclear Cardiology Physics A1 - Cooke, C. David A1 - Galt, James R. A1 - Tauxe, E. Lindsey A2 - Heller, Gary V. A2 - Hendel, Robert C. PY - 2022 T2 - Nuclear Cardiology: Practical Applications, 4e AB - KEY POINTSElements are defined by the number of protons in the nucleus. Nuclides are defined by the number of protons and the number of neutrons.The ratio of protons to neutrons determines the stability of a nucleus.Unstable nuclei decay to a more stable state through several different mechanisms: α decay, β− decay, β+ (positron) decay, electron capture, and isomeric transition.The rate at which unstable nuclei decay can be described by the decay constant. It is often more convenient to describe the rate of decay by the half-life.The interaction of radiation with matter is dependent on the energy and type of the radiation, as well as the atomic number (Z number) of the matter.Attenuation is the loss of radiation as it passes through matter and is absorbed or deflected. SN - PB - McGraw Hill LLC CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/10/08 UR - accesscardiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1190155546 ER -