Table of Contents
What is a half-life in radioactive decay?
Half-life is the length of time it takes for half of the radioactive atoms of a specific radionuclide to decay. A good rule of thumb is that, after seven half-lives, you will have less than one percent of the original amount of radiation. Click here for a closer look at half life.
What defines half-life?
Definition of half-life 1 : the time required for half of something to undergo a process: such as. a : the time required for half of the atoms of a radioactive substance to become disintegrated.
What is half-life and mean life?
Half life is the time taken for the radioactivity of a substance to fall to half its original value whereas mean life is average lifetime of all the nuclei of a particular unstable atomic species.
What is the definition of half-life in chemistry?
half-life, in radioactivity, the interval of time required for one-half of the atomic nuclei of a radioactive sample to decay (change spontaneously into other nuclear species by emitting particles and energy), or, equivalently, the time interval required for the number of disintegrations per second of a radioactive …
What is a half-life in chemistry?
An interesting and useful aspect of radioactive decay is half-life, which is the amount of time it takes for one-half of a radioactive isotope to decay. The half-life of a specific radioactive isotope is constant; it is unaffected by conditions and is independent of the initial amount of that isotope.
Who discovered half-life?
Ernest Rutherford
The original term, half-life period, dating to Ernest Rutherford’s discovery of the principle in 1907, was shortened to half-life in the early 1950s.
What is radioactive decay in chemistry?
Radioactive decay is the emission of energy in the form of ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation can affect the atoms in living things, so it poses a health risk by damaging tissue and DNA in genes..
Why is half-life important?
Understanding the concept of half-life is useful for determining excretion rates as well as steady-state concentrations for any specific drug. Different drugs have different half-lives; however, they all follow this rule: after one half-life has passed, 50% of the initial drug amount is removed from the body.
What is radioactive decay class 12?
The radioactive decay law states that “The probability per unit time that a nucleus will decay is a constant, independent of time”.
What is radioactive decay law give formula for half-life?
The time required for half of the original population of radioactive atoms to decay is called the half-life. The relationship between the half-life, T1/2, and the decay constant is given by T1/2 = 0.693/λ.
What is radioactive decay in physics?
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is considered radioactive.