Beta particles interact by

Beta particles interact by

• A. Beta particles travel in straight lines with no deflections.
• B. Beta particles cause many deflections during travel, resulting in large numbers of ionizations and excitation events.
• C. Beta particles quickly stop without interactions.
• D. Beta particles become alpha particles after scattering.

Answer: (B)

Beta particles are fast electrons, so as they travel through matter they interact repeatedly with the electric fields of atomic electrons and nuclei. Each encounter can ionize or excite an atom, and because electrons are light, they experience many small-angle deflections from these Coulomb interactions. The cumulative effect is a zigzag path with a large number of ionizations and excitations along the way. This is why they don’t move in a perfectly straight line and why their track is densely ionizing. They don’t simply stop without interactions, nor do they turn into alpha particles after scattering.

Beta particles are fast electrons, so as they travel through matter they interact repeatedly with the electric fields of atomic electrons and nuclei. Each encounter can ionize or excite an atom, and because electrons are light, they experience many small-angle deflections from these Coulomb interactions. The cumulative effect is a zigzag path with a large number of ionizations and excitations along the way. This is why they don’t move in a perfectly straight line and why their track is densely ionizing. They don’t simply stop without interactions, nor do they turn into alpha particles after scattering.