Simulation of a heavy nuclear recoil (blue particle) in ZrSiO4 (zircon) - Ian Farnan, University of Cambridge.
'When a heavy element emits an alpha particle, the nucleus of the atom recoils with extremely high energy and this recoil causes significant damage to the surrounding atomic environment, displacing thousands of nearby atoms,' says Farnan. This destroys the crystalline lattice causing the structure to become amorphous.'
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