Nuclear change is distinct from chemical change in that elements change. Chemical change is all about the electrons. In chemical change, the nuclei are conserved and simply change how they are bonded together(the electrons). In nuclear change, it is all about the nuclei. In a nuclear change the elements can change from one to another. Nuclei can break apart to form smaller elements. Nuclei can fuse together to make heavier elements. Neutrons can turn into protons and protons into neutrons. For nuclear change we essentially ignore the electrons completely. We are occasionally interested in high energy electrons that are emitted as "radiation", but otherwise we simply ignore the electrons as if they are not part of the atom at all. This is because the changes in energy related to the nuclei are so larger, we can simply focus on the nuclear part of the changes.
Nuclear Change© 2013 mccord/vandenbout/labrake