Question

When you have the nuclear radiative notation of 68Zn (p,2n)67Ga what does the x and y in coordinates represent (the p,2n)

Answer 1

Let us take simple example

a + b -------> c + d

This style of the form represented as a(b,c)d which is equivalent to a + b producing c + d. The particles are often abbreviated in this shorthand, typically p means proton, n means neutron, d means deuteron, α means an alpha particle or helium-4, β means beta particle or electron, γ means gamma photon, etc. The notation given would be written as 68Zn(n,α)67Ga. But given 68Zn (p,2n)67Ga here X which is P may be equal no of neutrons and Y which is 2n can be alpha particle, i.e, 2 x no of neutrons.