Artificial radioactivity

Artificial radioactivity refers to radioactivity that is produced artificially in a laboratory or industrial setting, as opposed to naturally occurring radioactivity. This is typically achieved by bombarding stable atomic nuclei with particles such as neutrons, protons, or alpha particles. This bombardment can induce nuclear reactions that result in the formation of unstable isotopes, which then undergo radioactive decay.

For example, bombarding aluminum-27 (²⁷Al) with alpha particles can produce phosphorus-30 (³⁰P), which is a radioactive isotope:

²⁷Al + ⁴He → ³⁰P + ¹n

Phosphorus-30 then decays by positron emission.