Nuclear Transformations

Radioactive Decay
Half Life
Radioactive Series

Nuclear Transformations
Radioactivity occurs because some nuclei are unstable and
spontaneously decay.
Important aspects of radioactivity:
Elements transform into other, different elements.
The energy released in radioactive decay comes from
mass which is converted to energy.
Radioactivity is a quantum phenomenon. Radioactive
decay is a statistical process.

Radioactive Decay
There are five kinds of radioactive decay. Figure 12.3 shows
them and gives the reasons for their occurrence. Understand
figure 12.3.

Starting on the next slide are the five kinds of radioactive

decay. We will go into more detail for each in later sections in
this chapter.

(1) Gamma decay.

Occurs when a nucleus has excess energy.

A gamma ray (packet of energy) is emitted from the

nucleus.
The parent and daughter nuclides are the same.
Example:
87
38

Sr *

87
38

Sr + .

The * in the reaction denotes an excited nuclear state.

(2) Alpha decay.

Occurs when the nucleus is too large.

An alpha particle is emitted, reducing the size of the

nucleus.
The daughter nucleus has an atomic number 2 less and
an atomic mass 4 less than the parent nucleus.
Example:
238
92

4
U 234
Th
+
90
2 He .

(3) Beta decay.

Occurs because the nucleus has too many neutrons
relative to protons.
A neutron changes into a proton and emits an electron.
The daughter nucleus has an atomic number 1 more and
an atomic mass the same as the parent nucleus.
Example:

14
6

C 147 N + e- .

Later we will find there is something missing from this

reaction.

(4) Electron capture.

Occurs because a nucleus has too many protons relative
to neutrons.
A proton captures an electron and changes into a
neutron.

The daughter nucleus has an atomic number 1 less and

an atomic mass the same as the parent nucleus.
Example:

64
29

Cu + e-

64
28

Ni .

Again, we will find something is missing from this reaction.

(5) Positron emission.

As with electron capture, this occurs because a nucleus
has too many protons relative to neutrons.
A proton emits a positron and changes into a neutron.
The daughter nucleus has an atomic number 1 less and
an atomic mass the same as the parent nucleus.
Example:

64
29

Cu

64
28

Ni + e+ .

Guess what? Something is missing from this reaction!

Radioactive decay involves an unstable nucleus giving off a

particle or ray, and in the process becoming a more stable
nucleus.
There are several ways to detect what the particle/ray is.
Detect the radiation after it passes through a magnetic
field. Positive and negative charged particles will be
deflected in different directions. Neutral particles or rays
go straight through.

See what it penetrates. A piece of paper can stop alpha rays.

Beta particles can be stopped by a sheet of aluminum. Even
lead may not stop gamma rays.

The activity of a radioactive sample is the rate at which atoms

decay.

If N(t) is the number of atoms present at a time t, then the

activity R is

dN
R =.
dt
dN/dt is negative, so the activity is a positive quantity.
The SI unit of activity is the becquerel: 1 becquerel = 1 Bq = 1
event/second.
Another unit of activity is the curie (Ci) defined by
1 curie = 1 Ci = 3.70x1010 events/s = 37 GBq.

Half-Life
Experimental measurements show that the activities of
radioactive samples fall off exponentially with time.
*Empirically:

R = - R 0 e-t .

is called the decay constant of the decaying nuclide. Each

radioactive nuclide has a different decay constant.

The half-life, T, is the time it takes for the activity to drop by

. We can find a relationship between and T:
R0
- 1/2
= - R 0e
2
activity after T

original activity

1
-
= e 1/2
2
+ 1/2

=2

1/2 = ln 2
=

ln 2
1/2

0.693
=
1/2

Here's a plot of the activity of a radionuclide.

The initial activity was
chosen to be 1000 for
this plot.

The half-life is 10 (in

whatever time units
we are using).

All decay curves look like this; only the numbers on the axes

will differ, depending on the radionuclide (which determines the

half-life) and the amount of radioactive material (which
determines the initial activity).

Hyperphysics is a good place to go for supplementary material.

Heres their plot of radioactive decay (they use A instead of R
for activity).

Remember, empirically
R = - R 0 e-t .

Lets fix this!

The empirical activity law can be derived if we assume that is
the probability per unit time for the decay of a nucleus.
Then dt is the probability that the nucleus will undergo decay
in a time dt.

If a sample contains N undecayed nuclei, then the number dN

that will decay in the time dt is just N times the probability of
decay,
dN = -N dt .

This equation can be integrated to give

N = - N0 e-t .

which you should recognize as looking like the activity law with
N's instead of R's.
The activity R of a sample of N radioactive nuclei is just
R = N.
Whats the difference between
R = - R 0 e -t

and

N = - N0e -t

Other than the fact that one talks about rates and the other
about numbers?

R = - R 0 e-t

is empirical, and you should always be suspicious of empirical

equations, which may or may not have any physical meaning.
N = - N0 e-t

was derived under the assumption that is the decay

probability per unit time, and is part of a testable theory. Big
difference!
Important! The equation for activity R in terms the number of
nuclei present
R = N
involves , which is a probability.

Radiometric dating
Carbon-14 dating is the best-known example. Carbon-14 is
formed in the atmosphere by the reaction
14
7

N + 01 n 146 C + 11H .

This reaction is continually taking place in the atmosphere, and

the carbon-14 atoms are continually beta decaying to nitrogen14, with a half-life of 5760 years.

Because carbon-14 is continually being created and decaying,

we eventually reach a steady state condition, where there is a
constant amount of carbon-14 in the atmosphere.

Living things take up carbon-14 as long as they are alive, and

have the same ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 as does the
atmosphere.
When living things die, they stop taking up carbon-14, and the
radioactive carbon-14 decays.
If we compare the carbon-14 to carbon-12 ratio in a dead
organism with a living one, we can tell how long the carbon-14
has been decaying without replenishing, and therefore how
long the organism has been dead.
This assumes the carbon-14 to carbon-12 ratio in the
atmosphere is the same now as it was when the
organism died.
It also assumes living organisms now are essentially the
same in their carbon content as were similar organisms
long ago.

Carbon-14 dating takes us back a relatively short time, and

both assumptions seem to be valid.

The formula for radiocarbon dating, derived from R = R0 e-t, is

R0
1
t = ln
.

R
We need to know the activity R0 of the organism at death,
which is the reason for the second assumption on the previous
slide.
Radiocarbon dating is good for a few half-lives of carbon-14, or
50,000 or so years.

A similar approach can be taken with radioactive potassium,

rubidium, or uranium, to go back much further in time.
We have to find parent-daughter decay schemes that give us
unique daughter nuclei; i.e., they could have only come from
decay of the parent.
If we assume the daughter nuclei came only from the original
radioactive nuclei, we can calculate the original number, and
then calculate the decay time.
We measure the time back to some event caused the clock to
start "ticking;" i.e., an event that froze into the sample the
particular number of parent atoms which resulted in the
observed number of daughter atoms.

Radiocarbon example. A piece of wood has 13 disintegrations

per minute per gram of carbon. The activity of living wood is 16
dpm per gram. How long ago did the tree die?

R0
1
t = ln
.

R
5760 years
16
t =
ln
= 1726 years .
0.693
13

This table in Beiser summarizes radioactive series further:

Mass Numbers

Stable End
Product

Series

Parent

4n

thorium

90Th

4n+1

neptunium

93Np

4n+2

uranium

239
92U

82Pb

206

4n+3

actinium

235
92U

82Pb

207

I used old-fashioned nuclide notation

whole lot easier in powerpoint!

232
237

82Pb
83Bi

208

209

232 because its a

Th
90

The thorium
series.

note:
decay
decay
branch at
216Po

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nuclear/radser.html