In most artificial transmutations, alpha particles or other particles bombard nuclei inside a nuclear reactor or a particle accelerator. In a transmutation produced with an alpha particle, a nucleus first absorbs the particle, then emits a proton. The resulting nucleus has one more proton and two more neutrons. Processes called fission and fusion also transmute elements. In fission, a nucleus splits into two lighter nuclei.
Fusion is the joining of two nuclei to form a heavier nucleus.
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