Nuclear Decay with time (half-life,initial activity/ nuclei)

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the relationship between half-life, initial activity, and the initial number of unstable nuclei in nuclear decay. The specific problem presented involves a substance with a half-life of 100 seconds and an initial count of 1020 unstable nuclei. The relevant formulas identified include A (final activity) = A0 * e-decay constant * time and N (final number of nuclei) = N0 * e-decay constant * time. The conclusion reached is that the initial activity A0 can be expressed as A0 = N0 * decay constant.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of nuclear decay concepts
  • Familiarity with half-life calculations
  • Knowledge of exponential decay functions
  • Basic calculus for derivatives in decay processes
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the derivation of the decay constant in nuclear physics
  • Learn about the relationship between half-life and decay constant
  • Explore applications of exponential decay in real-world scenarios
  • Investigate advanced topics in nuclear decay, such as radioactive series
USEFUL FOR

Students of nuclear physics, educators teaching decay processes, and professionals in fields involving radioactive materials will benefit from this discussion.

Treeps
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Hi! I just keep having a hard time looking for the formula stating the relationship between half life, the initial number of unstable nuclei and the initial activity, can someone help me on that ?

To be more specific, here is a problem which can be solved using that formula:
"A substance has a half life of 100s, and starts with 1020 unstable nuclei.Calculate the initial activity, and from this work out the time taken for all of the nuclei to decay if the activity did not decrease with time"

The only formulas I could find were:
A (final activity)= A0*e-decay constant*time
N (final number of nuclei)= N0*e-decay constant*time
But nothing clearing expressing the relationship between A0 and N0
 
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Activity is the process of nuclei "going away" (decaying) - a derivative should help.
 
Euh is it A0=N0*decay constant ?
 
Ok, thanks for your help !
 

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