In this case, the energy levels and spin states within the target nucleus have to be taken into account to estimate the probability for an interaction.

Some of the earliest nuclear reactions studied involved an alpha particle produced by alpha decay, knocking a nucleon from a target nucleus.

The heat of fission rapidly expands the uranium pit, spreading apart the target nuclei and making space for the neutrons to escape without being captured.

It can be created, for instance, by interaction of a proton beam accelerated by a particle accelerator and a target nucleus.

In another method, projectile nuclei are made to hit target nuclei at a glancing angle.

The excitation energy within the compound nucleus is formed from the binding energy of the thermal neutron with the target nucleus.

According to the thermal spike model, the electron collision cascade is responsible for the energy transfer between the projectile ion and the target nuclei.

There are some target nuclei for ablative surgery and deep brain stimulation.

There is no threshold behavior and the incident projectile disappears and its energy is transferred into internal excitation of the target nucleus.

If the initial state of the target nucleus is a nuclear isomer (starting with more energy than the ground) it can also support IGE.