Edexcel GCSE Physics · 1PH0
Specification 6.21 · Paper 1
Revise: Nuclear RearrangementThis is why gamma emission often follows another radioactive decay: the first decay produces the new nucleus, while the later nuclear rearrangement removes some of that nucleus's remaining excess energy. It does not happen after every radioactive decay, so the important wording is that nuclei often undergo this rearrangement.