¹⁹⁷₈₀ Hg decays to ¹⁹⁷₇₉ Au via electron capture, with a decay constant of 0.257 per day. Determine the other particle or particles that are emitted in this decay.

Step-by-step solution

The nuclear reaction for the electron capture process is given by: ¹⁹⁷₈₀ Hg + ⁰_ -1 e ¹⁹⁷₇₉ Au + _ e In an electron capture process, a proton in the nucleus captures an inner-shell electron and converts into a neutron. To conserve the lepton number, an electron neutrino ( _ e ) is emitted. Thus, the other particle emitted in this decay is a neutrino.