Decay Definition and 998 Threads

Homework Equations I was given all this information... I cannot figure it out whatsoever. I would post my attempts but there were too many. Any ideas would be helpful. I know the answer is 5.09 as the half life Decay Constant of Copper 66 Sources do not emit radiation at a constant...

Hi, Explain in terms of the number of nucleons and the forces between them, why argon-36 is stable and argon-39 is radioactive. My first doubt regards the number of nucleons. If a nucleon is the collective number of neutrons and protons, if we take carbon 12 for example, does it have 6 or...

Typical radio active decay question Half time = 1 year λ = ln 2 here Q 1: if we have 1024 atoms at t=0, what is the time at which the expected number remaining is one. Easy, I get 10 years Q 2: The chance that in fact none of the 1024 atoms remains after the time calculated in c...

I need some clarifications on the following concepts: 1.When an α-particle is released by a radio active sample, it loses a charge of +2. Similarly, when it loses a β particle it gains one positive charge. But there is no change in the number of electrons in the outer orbits of the radio...

In a reactor and sepertation plant complex, nuclide A is produced in pure form, without any contamination by nuclide B. A has a half life of 23minutes and B has a half life of 23days. A is a beta only emitter whereas B is a beta and gamma emitter. If A has been purified in a reatcor and...

I think I understand the basics of the SM and know that the W and Z bosons are the mediators of the Weak Force. I also understand from chem the basics about nuclear stability (ratio of protons to neutrons, valley of stability/nuclear binding energy, etc.). What I'd like to know is what the...

The equation I used for these are: If N=Noekt then DN/Dt=N0kekt so the two problems I have trouble with is A radioactive substance has a decay constant (k) of -.0539 per year. If 371 grams of the material is initially present, what is the instaneous rate of change of the substance at times...

Problem is: have a mother and daughter sample, A and B respectively. both are radioactive. The number of daughter nuclei at time t is given by (*): n(t)=\frac{N_{0}\lambda_{A}}{\lambda_{B}-\lambda_{A}}[e^{-\lambda_{A}t}-e^{-\lambda_{B}t}] where N_0 is number of mother nuclei at t=0 and n(t)...

Can someone describe the Feynman diagram for the Sigma plus decay to a positive pion and a neutron? I'm fine with the primary decay to the neutral pion and a proton. There appears to be insufficient down quarks created.

Z and W bosons have very short lives. I assume their decay is exothermic? Is this true? I've seen various feynman diagrams showing how these particles decay, but I'm having trouble verifying that their decay is exothermic. Also, does either of their decay emit dangerous radiation, or is it...

Hello, I am curious. Eventhough, the half-time of an element is always the same. Why not we can't find quarter of elements vanish time, because; half life is directly proportional, 10gr 10 min -> 5gr 20min. if 10 gr vanishes in 10 min, 2.5gr vanishes in 2.5 min for 20gr radioactive material.

Hello! I have read that in the case of beta decay, a neutron becomes a proton neutron = proton + electron + antineutrino but the electron and antineutrino are ''materialized'' by the emission of an intermediate w- boson. What does ''materialize'' mean in this context? I have thought of the w...

Homework Statement I learned that radio-decay is exponential; say if A decays to B with constant y1 and B decays to C with constant y2 and C is stable, N1 is nuclei in A while N2 is nuclei in B. N1 = N0e-y1(t) Homework Equations Then, I tried writing the decay equation for B, and hit...

Does this ever happen? p + \gamma \rightarrow n + e+ + \nu_e It seems possible, if the \gamma has enough energy, but I wonder if anyone can confirm that it happens.

Gamma decays are e.m.waves ..then how describe gamma decay in terms of energy levels?

Why is the Thorium decay series called 4n? I've looked it up but the explanation isn't clear

The fact that radioactive decay and continuous compound interest end up with the same formula (with the "rate" being negative in the former and positive in the latter) seems to me to be more a result of the ubiquity of the exponential function in solving differential equations than any common...

Hello, This may sound silly, don't be afraid to let me know just how silly though! I've read that predictions are made using the standard model. I do not know the details of this process. I understand pair production occurs randomly in a vacuum, but I wondered if there was an underlying...

Hello, I was looking at the quark masses and had this doubt regarding the muon decay: Why can't the muon decay into up and down quarks (plus neutrino). I know the explanation is because muon doesn't exhibit hadronic decays because its mass isn't big enough m_\mu=107MEV. But I just saw that...

Can someone explain this excerpt from my textbook please? "IF nucleus A was made from its constituents (Binding energy) and it released 400MeV, but making nucleus B(product) releases 405MeV. Therefore if A changes to B, 5 MeV of energy must be released. This excess energy is given to the...

Homework Statement In \alpha decay a nucleus X at rest decays to a daughter nucleus Y and an \alpha particle. Conservation of momentum and kinetic energy gives: M_{\alpha}v_{\alpha}+M_{Y}v_{Y}=0 \frac{1}{2}M_{\alpha}v_{\alpha}^{2}+\frac{1}{2}M_{Y}v_{Y}^{2}=Q Where the Q value is the...

I am not quite sure wheather this is the appropriate section. (since the question is about an experiment). I wondered about the following -when the Kamiokande-colaboration is going to release new results on proton decay bounds- since their last new bounds where in 2009 (Judging from their...

Why can’t decay heat be harnessed and used as an energy source to safely power down/cool a nuclear reactor? I have been wondering about this since the reactor incidents in Japan as it appears a tremendous amount off energy must still be dissapated after the shutdown of a nuclear reactor in...

Please teach me this: In QTF theory of Schroeder,chapter 13.1 saying: Just at t=0(t=\frac{T-T_{c}}{T_{c}}),the correlation should decay as power law. Define the exponent \eta by the formula: G(x)=\frac{1}{x^{d-2+\eta}} where d is Euclidien space dimension. I do not understand why at...

Hi all: I have one confused question. one continuous exponential decay function f=exp(-lamda*t) start from t=0 to infinity. I sample 1024 data points from the decay function. time variable (t) ranges from 0 to 1 second. the tail data of this exponential function is zero. I apply discret FFT on...

I'm attaching the problem as a png. The top half is the question whereas the second half is the solution. I understand everything about the question until the ultimate answer the final answer is: (r (constant) x0(constant) / k (constant)) * (1 - e^-60t) as shown. However I don't...

Homework Statement Consider the decay A -> B + C (where A is not at rest). In the rest frame of A, B is emitted in a random direction (all directions have equal probability) and I need to show that in the lab frame, the energy distribution of B is uniform. (We assume that B has negligible...

Hi, I am trying to control a voice coil motor's force, which is directly proportional to the current through its coil. The direction of the force needs to be reversed, so I thought an H-bridge would be a good way to do it. I have read a lot about H-bridges but I am still confused about a few...

Beta decay is when a neutron creates a proton and an electron and the electron is then expelled, right? So I was wondering, why would the new atom formed not be an ion? If the neutron became a proton, the mass number should stay the same, and the atomic number should increase by 1 since...

I'm starting to read up a bit on QFT, starting with Griffith's intro to elementary particles book. I've gone through the background stuff and I'm now into the QED chapter. I was trying to get a feel for how the number of loops introduces free momentum variables, and I ended up drawing a diagram...

I don't know how to solve the questions that my lecturer gave me. I not understand about probability of half life. Can anyone explain to me and help me solve the questions as well? My lecturer ask us to prove the probability as shown in the picture.

Homework Statement I must be overlooking something very simple: "A particle of mass M decays from rest into two particles. One particle has mass m and the other particle is massless. The momentum of the massless particle is..." Homework Equations energy² = mass² c^4 + p² c² momentum is...

I was recently wondering about this. A very high energy photon cannot transform into any collection of particles with mass without interacting with another photon or particle, else it is trivial to show energy/momentum cannot be conserved. Interacting with another photon allows...

Hi everyone, I find the following table from WolframAlpha concerning the probability of various decay modes of the pion \pi^{+}. My question is: Are these probabilities calculated, or are they numbers from numerous experiments? Thanks,

I am wondering what any experts think about these Wikipedia explanations of radioactive decay. (Wiki asks for help improving this article, so somebody must recognize some issues.) Thanks. under "EXPLANATION": Huh?? Does this mean anything?? What does "activation energy"...

Is stable nuclei decay? if no then how and why know please ans me i am waiting

Hi All, I have a question regarding the WKB method for computing tunnelling through barriers. I understand the method and the ability to arrive at a solution as given in the first part (summary) of the first page here: http://www.physics.udel.edu/~msafrono/425/Lecture%2018.pdf Is it...

Could you make a solar sail that derives it's energy from the decay of a radioactive element such as plutonium, uranium, or palonium? I understand that such elements radiate in all directions but if you had a 1 kg sphere of it attached to a boon which was attached to a reflective sail (e.g...

What drives particle decay? Is it an elementary, irreducible observation or can we model it based on a set of observable variables? Do all particle decay modes involve the weak force? Does one even need the intervention of a given force to have particle decay? Does string theory explain...

From Wikipedia: "Positron emission or beta plus decay (β+ decay) is a type of beta decay in which a proton is converted, via the weak force, to a neutron, releasing a positron (the antimatter counterpart of an electron) and a neutrino. Isotopes which undergo this decay and thereby emit...

The \Lambda baryon (quark content uds) decays into n + \pi^0 or p + \pi^-. In the case \Lambda \to p + \pi^-, the s quark decays into a u quark, releasing a W^- in the process (which subsequently decays into a \pi^- meson). What happens in the \Lambda \to n + \pi^0 case? (I tried Google, but...

A certain amount N_0 of a radioactive isotope with decay constant \lambda_1 is injected into a pacient. Besides that isotope's natural decay process, there's also a biological elimination process, with decay constant \lambda_2. Now, at time t, the number of remaining isotope atoms is given...

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/1106/1106.1470v1.pdf "Evidence for Time-Varying Nuclear Decay Rates: Experimental Results and Their Implications for New Physics" Authors: Ephraim Fischbach, Jere H. Jenkins, Peter A. Sturrock (Submitted on 7 Jun 2011) Abstract: Unexplained annual...

I heard that (charged) Pions decay due to the weak force, but what does that have anything to do with it? Also, wouldn't the strong force hold them together? I actually came up with the idea of the Pion on my own before discovering that it had already been discovered. Also, could they be...

Does time dilation effect radioactive decay? For example, if I speed a radioactive atom up to near light speeds, will its decay slow? If so, could this be used to study atoms with a very short decay time?

What causes the "random" decay of atoms in different interpretations? I'd like proponents of each interpretation to explain what their interpretation says about this issue? What happens/causes radio active decay? I know that atleast dBB and MWI needs to have a deterministic answer to this...

I saw references on the web to periodicities in radioactive decay that are hypothesized to correspond to the varying levels of neutrinos emanating from the sun. How do neutrinos affect radioactive decay?

Homework Statement In a nuclear fusion reaciton 4 protons fuse together. The final result is a helium nucleus and a release of energy. The net reaction is 4p→⁴He+ energy. The mass of a helium nucleus is 6.64×10-27kg. How much energy is released each decay? Homework Equations Mass lost...

Ok, so all elements undergo radioactive decay. But why? I have been snooping around and what i find is that radioactive decay occurs because of instability of the atom nucleus in quantity, proton-neutron ratio and energy content; therefore we have alpha, beta and gamma decay consecutively...

Homework Statement I am supposed to calculate the original activity of a radioactive from the following data: Total counts N Measurement time t Since the half-life is short compared to the measure time i can't just divide the counts with the time passed. I really have no clue on how...