Explain the half life - Nuclear Physics, Physics

Assignment Help:

Explain the Half-Life

The decay of a nucleus is a random event.  It is not possible to predict which nucleus will decay and when.  Even though over a period of time, the decay rate is constant that permits us to predict when a given fraction of the sample has decayed.

The half-life is the amount of time it takes for half of a chunk of radioactive isotope to go through radioactive decay.  It is generally represented by the symbol t½ .

The half-life of germanium-69 is 36 hours.  If we begin with n atoms of 6932Ge, then at the end of 36 hours we will comprise n/2 (half) of the atoms of 6932Ge left.  The rest of the atoms will have altered into another element or isotope. At the end of the next 36 hours (that is 72 hours from the starting point) there will be n/4 atoms of 6932Ge left.  After other 36 hours have passed (108 hours from the beginning) there will be n/8 6932Ge atoms.  Observe the trend?  After every half-life we have half of the preceding amount.


Related Discussions:- Explain the half life - Nuclear Physics

Newtons laws skydiving, Newtons Laws Skydiving Assume the motion of the...

Newtons Laws Skydiving Assume the motion of the skydiver below. As the skydiver falls and he encounters the force of air resistance. An amount of air resistance is dependent up

Produce a schematic diagram of the system, Produce a schematic diagram of t...

Produce a schematic diagram of the system: The steam that leaves the super-heater is expanded from 130bar at 535°C to 25.2bar at 310°C in a high pressure turbine. The steam fr

Conservation laws, conservation laws A law that states that, in a clos...

conservation laws A law that states that, in a closed system, the whole quantity of something will not enhance or reduce, but exactly remain the same; i.e., its rate of altera

Why should the material used for making permanent magnets, Why should the m...

Why should the material used for making permanent magnets have high coercivity? What will be the values of input A and B for the Boolean expression? Why is frequency modulati

Vertical circular motion, Vertical Circular Motion A mass is in circul...

Vertical Circular Motion A mass is in circular motion within the vertical plane. We show the weight and force exerted through the tension within the string.

Chemistry in action - detergents, chemistry in action - Detergents A re...

chemistry in action - Detergents A result of high dissolving power, the logically happening water all time consists of dissolved matters, majorly ionic substances. Hard water h

Thin film, what is main requirements for any thin film process

what is main requirements for any thin film process

Explain avalanche breakdown, At high reverse voltage, due to high electric ...

At high reverse voltage, due to high electric field, the minorities charge carriers, while crossing the junction acquires very high velocities. A chain reaction is prepared, giving

Determine a single-phase transformer, A single-phase transformer has 2400 t...

A single-phase transformer has 2400 turns on the primary and 600 turns on the secondary. Its no-load current is 4A at a power factor of 0.25 lagging. Suppose the volt drop

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd