Beta Decay & Electron Emission Potential

[wil3]

Hello. Say that I were to take a beta emitting radioactive substance, crush it up, and apply it to a copper plate. Is there a way for me to predict the electrical potential and/or current on the plate (due to the emitted electrons) based on known data, such as radiation level of the substance, plate geometry, substance density, etc?

 

[Dadface]

Hello. Say that I were to take a beta emitting radioactive substance, crush it up, and apply it to a copper plate. Is there a way for me to predict the electrical potential and/or current on the plate (due to the emitted electrons) based on known data, such as radiation level of the substance, plate geometry, substance density, etc?

You can calculate the average number of electrons released per second from the equation:
dN/dT=-xN
x= decay constant=0.693/half life,N= number of radioactive atoms present in your sample.