- #1
physics_head
- 4
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Is it possible create a quantum mechanics simulation to predict what the half life of an element will be, say C-14?
I know one way to figure an element's half life is to get a bunch of atoms(a really big number of them), wait for some time to pass, and count how many atoms decayed, thus the half life would be deduced.
But I am thinking we wouldn't need to perform such experiments, couldn't we just use what we know about quantum mechanics and physics to predict what the half life of an unstable element will be?
I know one way to figure an element's half life is to get a bunch of atoms(a really big number of them), wait for some time to pass, and count how many atoms decayed, thus the half life would be deduced.
But I am thinking we wouldn't need to perform such experiments, couldn't we just use what we know about quantum mechanics and physics to predict what the half life of an unstable element will be?