Radioactive Definition and 387 Threads

Lets say somehow something or someplace gets contaminated with radioactive waste, how is it decontaminated?

So I heard a little rumor that Beta decays in certain isotopes release an electron at "ultrarelativistic" speeds. I also heard a rumor that Z bosons can be created temporarily by a positron annihilating an electron when the two collide. [FONT="Fixedsys"]My question is, can one place two...

I've been working with this problem for almost two weeks trying to find a good equation for the decay of Bismuth to no avail. Can someone give me insightful comments: Here's the problem: Homework Statement In the radioactive decay series of Uranium (238, 92), isotopes of lead...

If isotope A decays to isotope B. Does it mean that if within 1 hour we have 10 mg of A that decays, do we get exactly 10 mg of B after one hour? thanks

Homework Statement {}^{241}_{95}Am produces \alpha particles, which interact with {}_{4}^{9} Be to produce neutrons. The Am sample emits \alpha particles at a rate of 70.0s^{-1} on June 16, 1996. What was the activity on June 16, 2004? Homework Equations The half life for...

Homework Statement A radioactive sample contains 3.25 1018 atoms of a nuclide that decays at a rate of 3.4 1013 disintegrations per 26 min. (a) What percentage of the nuclide will have decayed after 159 d? % (b) How many atoms of the nuclide will remain in the sample? atoms (c) What is...

I just read the following article, from 2007: I find that pretty worrying, but oddly enough, there is hardly any other information to be found on this subject. The only other articles I can find link back to this one, so I wonder, is this just sensationalist reporting or is there some truth...

Question The α-emitter 210, 84 Po is used in a nuclear battery. The kinetic energy of the emitted alpha particles can be worked out from energy and momentum conservation. It is converted into electrical energy at 5.0% efficiency. (a) Determine the initial power output (in W) of the battery...

Hello; Just needed to clarify something. When anti-particles undergo gamma radioactive decay, is a gamma ray produced, or an anti-gamma ray? Or something completely different? Thanks.

Hello; I remember being taught long ago that radioactive decay is random, but, no one ever explained to me why. Surely there has to be a reason for it? Or is it simply the case of it not being random? (particles in gases don't move randomly, it is dependent on various factors) Thanks.

Homework Statement Consider a radiactive decay problem involving two types of nuclei, A and B, with populations Na(t) and Nb(t). Suppose that type A nuclei decay to form type B nuclei, which then also decay, according to differential equations:Homework Equations dNa/dt = - Na/Ta dNb/dt =...

Homework Statement This is an equation relating radioactivity of lead in marine core sediments in comparison with the depth of the sediment. The equation is AL=A0exponential - λL/s Where AL = activity at depth L (Bqkg-1) Where A0 = activity at depth 0 cm (Bqkg-1) λ = decay constant...

Would "finely dispersed radioactive aerosols" be correct to say? I am translating a piece and I need some help. The piece contains information about air filters that capture airborne radiation, namely ultrafine particles of radioactive matter (or so I understood). My question is, would...

I am confused about the half life and radioactive decay and how to figure out the problems. here is one from my book: A zircon sample contains 4000 atoms of the radioactive element 235U. Given that 235U has a half life of 700 million years, how long would it take to decay to 125 atoms?

Homework Statement A radioactive source emits electrons. The number of electrons emitted per second N(t) decreases with time according to the equation: dN/dt = −1.8 × 10−5N(t) , where t is expressed in seconds. If N = 12 electrons/sec at t = 0, after what time t has N fallen to the value...

Can anyone explain to me why actually are some elements radioactive? I have the explanation in my textbook but i want to know the main reason why these elements are not stable...

Hi! I am looking for a sensor that can sense radioactive particle. It will alert when the amount of the radioactive particle in air is high. I found many radioactive detector, but I need is the sensor in the detector. Can someone suggests for me this kind of sensor (as small as possible)...

How would i go about making something radioactive? could I just blast it with beta radiation?

Is radioactive decay dependant on temperature? what about pressure? my initial thinking is yes and no

Homework Statement in fortran 90 write a program to using the euler scheme to solve the differential equation for decay of a radioactive substance dx/dt = -j*x solving the equation we get x = e^(-j*t) following info is given 2. Homework Equations and values t0 = 0.0 tF =...

Hi, If we calculate the flux at a certain distance from a source of radiation by first neglecting the effect of attenuation in air, how does one factor in the effect of air attenuation? I do not know how to apply that theory. I'm am trying to understand what the difference is at sea level...

Homework Statement Suppose that a given radioactive element A decomposes into a second radioactive element B, and that B in turn decomposes into a third element C. The amount of A present is initially a0. The amounts of A and B present at a later time t are a and b respectively. If k1 and k2...

Hi guys I am currently doing some homework for physics and I am having a little bit of difficulty understanding the topic. We are currently studying half life and radioactive decay. We completed a practical involving the rolling of X number of dice and removed all dice that rolled the number 2...

Do all types of light in the radioactive spectrum emit heat? If so, why is infrared the only one associated with heat?

~Radioactive decay simulation Homework Statement i have modeled a simulation of radioactive decay and am using an exponential model of y = Ae^kx and I am asking to analyse my model and justify my choice of model. and points I can discuss are relating the solution to the problem and...

Hello everyone, Having recently been engaged in a laboratory class involving the measurement of the activity of various sealed radioactive samples, I am curious to know how durable these 'sealed' disks are... My question is, how long does it take for its 'sealed' state to become...

Can anyone tell me what makes an atom unstable, and more prone to radioactive decay? From what I've read in books and on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_decay" , it's caused by flucutations in the quantum vacuum which disturb the nucleus. But why are some atoms more prone to be bothered...

Homework Statement I'm looking at a problem from MIT's Open Courseware on radioactive chain decay, i.e. one element decays into another decays into another, finding the quantity at time t.Homework Equations The standard linear differential equation governing exponential decay.The Attempt at a...

The problem states: I know it's beta decay, but there are two types of beta decay and I'm not sure how to tell which one would happen. If anyone is more familiar with these kinds of questions than I am, I'd be really thankful for any help. Thanks ahead of time!

Homework Statement A Uranium mine extracts sandstone in which the Uranium ore grade is 0.25%. Consideration is given to extracting Radium from the tailings. Estimate the concentration of Radium in the tailings and, using the data provided, determine if the proposal is financially viable...

Dear all, When I was a nipper, my favourite TV show was 'Space 1999' - anyone remember that? Anyway, I think the main reason why I liked it (aside from Barbara Bain and Catherine Schell) was because a lot of the technology portrayed had a sense of realism to it, which in the 70's didn't seem...

Homework Statement A laboratory rat is exposed to an alpha-radiation source whose activity is 11.3 mCi. What is the activity of the radiation in disintegrations per second? in becquerels? The rat has a mass of 315 grams and is exposed to the radiation for 12.3 seconds, absorbing 39% of...

I have an essay on radioactive decay, here is the title 'Explore the nature of radioactive decay and Discuss it's applications' Does anyone know any good reference material for this kind of thing? Equivilence of mass and energy Alpha, Beta, Gamma Nuclear power Med Physics Carbon...

I was doing some research on Technetium and I found out that it occurs naturally in uraninite from the spontaneous fission of U-238. But on the decay chain of U-238 I can't find Tc any where... So what's the difference between spontaneous fission and radioactive decay?

Does the half life of a particular radioactive decay change if the sample is accelerated close to the speed of light ? Didn't Hawking answer that question in the 1980's ? Shouldn't the half life itself change over time ? (since the normal pdf is the one with the most entropy of information and...

This problem has always bugged me, and the only answers I've been given were on the lines of "meh". What I don't understand is that if we are given 1 gram of a radioactive substance with a half life of n years, why is it that after n years, the substance is reduced to 0.5 grams of radioactive...

how the decay depends on total mass of the radioactive element? is it necessary that all the atoms of the element keep contact among them, for the above case?

Homework Statement A radioactive needle contains 222 Rn (t1/2=3.83 d) in secular equilibrium with 226 Ra(t1/2=1600 a). How long does is it required for 222 Rn to decay to half of its original activity?Homework Equations A(t) = -\frac{dN(t)}{dt} = \lambda N(t) The Attempt at a Solution...

Hello my smart fellows, I was wondering why scientists say that when an ancient civilization constructs a structure, they can tell the date that the structure was built with radioactive dating methods? Surely the materials used to make the structure already HAD an age, so how would they be able...

Homework Statement Analysis of the material shows that it contains both Gallium-64 (atomic mass = 63.936838u) and Zinc-64 (atomic mass = 63.929147u). Which nuclide is the parent nuclide and which is the daughter nuclide?Homework Equations N/AThe Attempt at a Solution The answer is supposed to...

Homework Statement Plutonium-238 with a half-life of 90 years, emits and alpha particle of energy 5.10 MeV. 180mg of this radioisotope is used to power a pacemaker. Calculate the initial power in mW, supplied by Plutonium-238, assuming a 100% efficiency for the conversion of decay energy into...

Homework Statement This particular exercise has no "problem statement" but I'll explain it in detail using all the information provided to me. The class was presented with a table of data containing values for time (in days) and activity (in cts/sec) for a radioactive isotope Iodine-131...

After asking my own question on half-lives and radioactive decay despite having read the library article on Radioactive Decay, I felt that I should post a less formal, more in-depth explanation of how to actually solve the equations. There are two primary equations that I use when dealing...

[Hey I have also been asked this question, A mouse dropping was found in a house in Ireland and had a 14C:12C ratio that was 57% of a modern day standard. Use this value to estimate the aprox date when the mouse visited the house? The half life of 14C is 5715 year I used the following...

If nucleus A decays to nucleus B in rate a, and B decays to C in rate b, and C is decaying at the rate c. To setup a model for that process, we start from A \frac{dA}{dt} = - a A(t) and for B, part for B is dying out from it's own decaying process but some amount of A will decay into...

thanx for help in advance, we know that radioactive iodine is given to people to minimize their thyroid growth or plain thyroid activity. This certain iodine 131-53 I, has a half life of 7.56 days. so why would the radiation in the human body decrease at a faster rate than at the calculated...

thanx for help in advance, we know that radioactive iodine is given to people to minimize their thyroid growth or plain thyroid activity. This certain iodine 131-53 I, has a half life of 7.56 days. so why would the radiation in the human body decrease at a faster rate than at the calculated...

Hi folks I was wondering if someone could please help me with the following: Is the explanation for radioactive decay (if it is not "induced") the increase in entropy, and is it true that an activation energy must be overcome (if so, does that mean that it is not possible for an unstable...

I'm looking to simulate a radioactive pile in the context of a simple computer game. The problem is, however, that for various reasons I can't use a straightforward tick-by-tick simulation. Instead I'm looking for an equation that can be solved based on time and would give me the amount of...

I apologize if this is posted in the wrong forum. this may not be calculus but i would appreciate any help solving this equation radioactive decay equation is N=N0e^-(0.693t/T(1/2)) N is the current specific activity value, N0 is the initial specific activity, t is the time or age of the...