This may sound like a dumb Q

[Deepa100]

Alright, I admit it. After all the nuclear reactive stuff they discussed in the science classes, I should feel pretty confident about this but I don't quite understand this...

If a positron is emitted by a nucleus, the number of neutrons goes up by 1 and the number of protons goes down by 1. Ok, so far so good. But what happens to the # of electrons? Isn't the # of electrons supposed to be the same as # of protons? So, the # of electrons goes down by one too? Where does the electron go?
Thanks!

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[Phlame217]

Well positron is classified as a beta decay but with a positive, so a proton decays into a neutron and shoots off a positron rather than a electron. In practice, though, the positron will instantaneously react with the electron to become a proton and create a hydrogen by product. Very energetic.