R. P. Turcotte investigated radiation damage in actinide dioxides, comparing irradiation, self-damage, and annealing. Alpha decay creates both an emitted particle and a recoiling daughter nucleus.
Their different masses and energies produce different patterns of energy deposition and atomic displacement. Separating these contributions helps explain why radiation damage cannot be estimated from the emitted alpha particle alone.[ref]
Alpha radiation damage in the actinide dioxides by R. P. Turcotte. Research topic and author attribution in the primary publication
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