During the disintegration of a radioactive nucleus of mass number 208 at rest, two alpha particles each with kinetic energy E are emitted. The total kinetic energy of the emitted alpha particles and the daughter nucleus after the disintegration is
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In a two-body decay ($P \to D + \alpha$), momentum is conserved: $\vec{p}_D = -\vec{p}_\alpha$. In a multi-body decay like this one, the daughter nucleus recoils to balance the vector sum of the momenta of the emitted particles. The maximum possible total kinetic energy occurs when the momenta of the emitted particles are aligned.