Radioactive Decay: Mean Life Time & Decay Constant

Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
1 reply · 4K views
roshan2004
Messages
140
Reaction score
0
How can we prove that the mean life time of a radioactive decay is reciprocal to the decay constant?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
roshan2004 said:
How can we prove that the mean life time of a radioactive decay is reciprocal to the decay constant?
What is the definition of 'mean lifetime' and how would one describe it mathematically?

Think about the survival time for a population of particles that decay, and how N(t) relates to A(t), where A(t) = dN(t)/dt.