Can an unstable atom undergo both nuclear fission and radioactive decay?
Other than the fact that that fission has to be initiated is
there a difference between the final stability of the atoms?
[Physics] Radioactivity and nuclear fission
nuclear-physicsradioactivity
Best Answer
Yes. Uranium-235 for instance decays via $\alpha$ emission, and is also, famously, fissile. The results of fission and decay are not the same but, by definition, you end up, at the end of a possibly-long chain, with stable nuclei both cases (but not the same ones)
You could very easily have looked this up (the Wikipedia entry for 'Uranium' would be a good starting point).