What happens to the atomic number during beta decay?

During beta decay, the atomic number of an element increases by one. This process occurs when a neutron in an unstable nucleus is transformed into a proton and an electron. The emitted electron is known as a beta particle.

As a result of this transformation, the original atom, which had one fewer proton than the new atom, effectively becomes a different element that is one position higher on the periodic table. This is because the atomic number, which defines the element, is determined by the number of protons in the nucleus.

In this process, while the mass number (the total number of protons and neutrons) remains unchanged, the alteration in the neutron-to-proton ratio leads to the generation of a new element with a higher atomic number. Thus, beta decay significantly affects the identity of the element while conserving the overall mass.