*Knapp, Alex (May 3, 2011). [https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2011/05/03/radioactive-decay-rates-may-not-be-constant-after-all/#4634f095147f Radioactive Decay Rates May Not Be Constant After All]. ''Forbes''. Retrieved January 4, 2018.</ref>
The process of decay is as follows. Atoms consist of For a heavy central core called the [[nucleus]] surrounded by clouds fairly technical explanation of lightweight particles (electrons), called [[electron shell]]s. The energy locked in the nucleus is enormous, but cannot be released easily. The phenomenon we know as heat is simply the jiggling around of atoms and their components, so in principle a high enough temperature could cause the components of the core to break out. However, the temperature required to do this is in in the millions of degrees, so this cannot be achieved by any natural radioactivity process that we know about. The second way that a nucleus could be disrupted is by particles striking it. However, see the nucleus has a strong positive charge and the electron shells have a strong negative charge. Any incoming negative charge would be deflected by the electron shell and any positive charge that penetrated the electron shells would be deflected by the positive charge of the nucleus itself. The decay process is as follows. Particles consist of various subtypes. Those that can decay are [[meson]]s and [[baryonRadioactivity|radioactivity page]]s, which include [[proton]]s and [[neutron]]s; although decays can involve other particles such as [[photon]]s, [[electron]]s, [[positron]]s, and [[neutrino]]s. "Decay" simply refers to a meson or baryon becoming another type of particle, as the number of a certain type of particle goes down or ''decays'' as they are converted. This can happen due to one of three forces or "interactions": strong, electromagnetic, and weak, in order of decreasing strength. Historically, these are also known as alpha, gamma, and beta decays, respectively. "Atomic decays" are due to proton or neutron decays: either weakly, incrementing up or down the table of elements; or strongly, often splitting into smaller elements, one of which is often [[helium]]. For example, a neutron-deficient nucleus may ''decay weakly'' by converting a proton in a neutron (to conserve its positive electric charge, it ejects a positron, as well as a neutrino to conserve the quantum [[lepton number]]); thus the hypothetical atom loses a proton and increments ''down'' the table by one element. A complex set of rules describes the details of particle decays: historically, the finding of which as been a major objective of particle physics. Most are determined experimentally by institutions such as [[CERN]] with the [[Large Hadron Collider]]. Decays are very random, but for different elements are observed to conform to statistically averaged different lifetimes. If you had an ensemble of identical particles, the probability of finding a given one of them still as they were - with no decay - after some time is given by the mathematical expression ::<math>P(t) = e^{-t/(\gamma \tau)} \,</math> :where ::<math>\tau</math> is the mean lifetime of the particle (when at rest), proportional to its half-life, and::<math>\gamma = \frac{1}{\sqrt{1-v^2/c^2}}</math> is the relativistic [[Lorentz factor]] of the particle. This governs what is known as the "decay rate." The rate is unique to different particles and so to different atomic elements. This makes different elements useful for different time scales of dating; an element with too short an average lifetime will have too few particles left to reveal much one way or another of potentially longer time scales. Hence, elements such as potassium, which has an average lifetime of nearly 2 billion years before decaying into argon, are useful for very long time scales, with geological applications such as dating ancient lava flows or Martian rocks. Carbon, on the other hand, with a shorter mean lifetime of over 8000 years, is more useful for dating human artifacts. Atoms themselves consist of a heavy central core called the [[nucleus]] surrounded by arrangements of [[electron shell]]s, wherein there are different probabilities of precisely locating a certain number of electrons (depending on the element). The energy locked in the nucleus is enormous, but cannot be released easily. One way that a nucleus could be disrupted is by particles striking it. However, the nucleus has a strong positive charge and the electron shells have a strong negative charge. Any incoming negative charge would be deflected by the electron shell and any positive charge that penetrated the electron shells would be deflected by the positive charge of the nucleus itself. This interpretation unfortunately fails to consider observed energetic interactions, including that of the strong force, which is stronger the electromagnetic force.
=== Outside influences ===
