# What is this form of notation called?

$$^{14}_6C \rightarrow ^{14}_7N + E^{-} + \bar{\nu}_e$$

Just curious!

• Carbon 14 decays into Nitrogen 14, emits an electron and an electron anti-neutrino. – Trace Fleeman Jan 30 '14 at 7:21
• Ah yes, I forgot that the 14 is the total weight, not the neutrons. I was viewing it as increasing by one proton, not converting a neutron to a proton. – Brandon Enright Jan 30 '14 at 7:22
• Could be called "wrong" unless you have a $-1$ subscript on the electron :) – DJohnM Jan 30 '14 at 8:00
• If that is an electron it should be $e^-$. Capitalization is significant in the symbols for elements and particles, and electrons are lower-case. – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Jan 30 '14 at 16:39

## 2 Answers

It's just the notation of chemical equations adapted to nuclear reactions, accordingly sometimes called nuclear equations.

I'm not sure there is a name for that notation! I would normally just describe it as a nuclear reaction, or perhaps as being written like a chemical reaction, but personally, I've never heard of a name for it.