Radioactive Decay

The nuclei of some chemical elements are unstable against the strong nuclear force holding them together, resulting in a spontaneous change of characteristic or identity of the element. This is especially common for elements above 92 There are 3 methods of decay

Decay Mechanisims
- decay A Helium nucleus seems to emerge from the unstable element An electron and neutrino emerge from the unstable element A photon emerges from the unstable element

- decay

- decay

 - decay
Helium nucleus emerges from the unstable element. 92 238U 90234Th + 24He + energy electric repulsion becomes greater than the nuclear attraction/ contrast between short and long range forces. Masses do not balance! Why?

 - decay
An electron and a neutrino emerge from the unstable nucleus. 614C 714N + - 10e + energy Weak force - a down quark in a neutron changes into an up quark changing it into a proton. Masses do not balance! Why?

 - decay
Photon emerges from the unstable element The element retains its identity 13 27 Al* 13 27 Al + + energy nucleus is not changed but has an excess of energy - particles are agitated and farther away from each other. Masses dont balance!

Masses dont balance!

Einstein - mass IS energy E = mc2 m is the mass difference between the parent nuclei and the daughters. The equation gives the energy released. Mass is converted into energy!

Decay Process
The fraction of atoms decaying in a time interval t is:

N / N = - t
The value of depends on the nucleus The unit of is 1/seconds (per second)

Decay Measurement In the Lab

Measuring for an element: Villanovium

N / N = - t
2. Timer for Geiger Counter

Vu

3. Count decay particles during time interval

1. How may atoms of Villanovium?

The Decay Equation

The fraction of atoms decaying in a time interval t is:

N / N = - t

Using calculus on this equation, we get:

N(t) / N0 = e -t
N(t) - # at time t N0 - # at beginning t - elapsed time e = 2.71828

Decay Equation how it works

How does N(t) decrease with time?
Fraction decaying each second -
t
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

N(t) / N0 = e

-t

10 %

0.1

Amount at time, t
1.0000 0.9000 0.8100 0.7290 0.6561 0.5905 0.5314 0.4783 0.4305 0.3874 0.3487 0.3138 0.2824 0.2542

t
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Amount at time, t
1.0000 0.9000 0.8000 0.7000 0.6000 0.5000 0.4000 0.3000 0.2000 0.1000 0.0000 -0.1000 -0.2000

ADD a fraction each time compound interest

N(t) / N0 = e
5% INCREASE each time

+t
5 %

Fraction increasing each year, + 0.05

t
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Amount at time, t
1.0000 1.0500 1.1025 1.1576 1.2155 1.2763 1.3401 1.4071 1.4775 1.5513 1.6289 1.7103 1.7959 1.8856

t
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Amount at time, t
1.0000 1.0500 1.1000 1.1500 1.2000 1.2500 1.3000 1.3500 1.4000 1.4500 1.5000 1.5500 1.6000

Decay Equation how it works

Suppose 10% decays each second:
Fraction decaying each second -
t
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

N(t) / N0 = e

-t

10 %

0.1

Amount at time, t
1.0000 0.9000 0.8100 0.7290 0.6561 0.5905 0.5314 0.4783 0.4305 0.3874 0.3487 0.3138 0.2824 0.2542

t
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Amount at time, t
1.0000 0.9000 0.8000 0.7000 0.6000 0.5000 0.4000 0.3000 0.2000 0.1000 0.0000 -0.1000 -0.2000

50%, half-life

Half-Life when remains

N(t) / N0 = e
1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 -0.1 -0.2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42

-t

Half-life [ t ] when 10% decays in a second --- about 6.4 seconds

NEVER REACHES 0

Seconds

If you know , you can find t1/2

Suppose that 50% is left, then:

N(t) / N0 = e -t = 0.5
Since we know we can solve for t1/2. We call that time the half-life how long it takes (in seconds) for of the sample to decay.

Half-life examples
sotope Life
esium 137 hromium 51 27.7 Days obalt 57 Days obalt 60 Years opper 64 Hours luorine 18 271.7 5.26 12.7 109.7 hosphorus 32 14.29 Days amarium 153 46.7 Hours elenium 75 119.8 olybdenum 99 66 Hours

Half30 Years

sotope Life

Half-

ridium 192 73.83 Days