Induced or Artificial Radioactivity

Induced (or artificial) radioactivity is a specific type of nuclear transmutation in which a nucleus that starts out STABLE is converted, by bombardment with a suitable particle, into a nucleus that is RADIOACTIVE -- and that newly radioactive product then goes on to decay spontaneously on its own, emitting further radiation or particles.

The classic textbook illustration: stable boron-10 (10-5-B), when bombarded with alpha particles (4-2-He), transforms into nitrogen-13 (13-7-N) with the release of a neutron: $10$-$5$-$B + 4$-$2$-$He \rightarrow 13$-$7$-$N + 1$-$0$-$n$. The nitrogen-13 produced is itself unstable, and it spontaneously decays by emitting a positron (a positively charged beta particle) to become stable carbon-13: $13$-$7$-$N \rightarrow 13$-$6$-$C + \,^{0}_{1}e$. …