Alpha rays/Talk

Since Alpha radiation is known to be a couple of protons and neutrons, why should this entry be under Alpha Rays? Surely it should be a redirect to Alpha Particles? -- Dave McKee

Given the interconvertability of all matter and energy (have you calculated your de Broglie wavelength recently?), the same argument could be made for any type of ray, radiation, or collection of matter. Perhaps what is needed is a convention to use in naming the entries for the types of rays or radiation that have "trivial" names: alpha, beta, gamma. Whether we make the the modified term "ray" or "radiation" is of no import to me, though I think "particle" would be a stretch, since one never speaks of a gamma particle (a high energy photon) and rarely, if ever, of a beta particle (an electron).

I say call them all "radiation" and make any other entry a redirect. --dja