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It varies from element to element. Also, the process of radioactive decay is a random (Poisson) process. So a specific atom can decay instantly or not for thousands of years and there is no way of knowing. All that can be measured is the length of time it takes for half of the atoms to decay.
Some elements are known to decay but are thought to have a half lives of thousands of years. 40Potassium, for example, has a half life of more than a billion years. On the other hand, ununoctium is thought to have a half life of less than 1 millisecond.
What else can I help you with?
What is the relationship between radioactive isotope and radioactive dating?
In radiometric dating, the amount of a certain radioactive isotope in an object is compared with a reference amount. This ratio can then be used to calculate how long this isotope has been decaying in the object since its formation. For example, if you find that the amount of radioactive isotope left is one half of the reference amount, then the amount of time since the formation of the object would be equal to that radioactive isotope's half-life.
How are radioactive isotopes used determine the absolute age of igneous rock?
Answer : When the isotopes decay, scientists can find out how old the rock is depending on the radioactive isotope's half-life. Explanation: Radioactive isotopes are unstable and will decay. For example, when humans die carbon-14 decays. The isotopes will decay into a stable isotope over time. Scientists can tell how old the rock was from looking at the radioactive isotope's half-life, which tells them how long it would take for there to be half the radioactive isotope and half the stable isotope. At the next half-life there will be 25% of the radioactive isotope and 75% of the stable isotope. At the next half life there will be 12.5% radioactive and 87.5% stable. Example: Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope with a half life of 5,730 years. How old would carbon-14 be when there is 75% carbon-14 in the rock? 75% is half of the time before the half-life, so it would be 2,365 years. Hope this helps. Half life helps scientists find how much the isotope has decayed and the age of the rock.
How are radioactive isotopes used to determine the absolute age of igneous rock.?
Answer : When the isotopes decay, scientists can find out how old the rock is depending on the radioactive isotope's half-life. Explanation: Radioactive isotopes are unstable and will decay. For example, when humans die carbon-14 decays. The isotopes will decay into a stable isotope over time. Scientists can tell how old the rock was from looking at the radioactive isotope's half-life, which tells them how long it would take for there to be half the radioactive isotope and half the stable isotope. At the next half-life there will be 25% of the radioactive isotope and 75% of the stable isotope. At the next half life there will be 12.5% radioactive and 87.5% stable. Example: Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope with a half life of 5,730 years. How old would carbon-14 be when there is 75% carbon-14 in the rock? 75% is half of the time before the half-life, so it would be 2,365 years. Hope this helps. Half life helps scientists find how much the isotope has decayed and the age of the rock.
Is terbium radioactive?
Nearly all, 99.988%, of tantalum found in nature is stable. The natural radioactive isotope, 180mTa, accounts for 0.012% of it, and is believed to have a very long half life of about 1,200,000,000,000,000 years. Like all elements, tantalum has synthetic radioactive isotopes.
How can you determine if an isotope is stable?
Isotopes are considered stable if they do not undergo radioactive decay. This can be determined by measuring the isotope's half-life, which is the time it takes for half of the atoms in a sample to decay. If the half-life is long, the isotope is considered stable.
How long does ionizing radiation last?
Ionizing radiation lasts for as long as the radioactive material emitting it remains radioactive. The duration can vary depending on the half-life of the specific radioactive isotope involved. Some isotopes may last seconds to minutes, while others can remain radioactive for thousands of years.
What is stable and unstable isotopes?
Some isotopes are stable, others are unstable.
How do you determine if an isotope is stable?
Isotopes are considered stable if they do not undergo radioactive decay over time. Scientists determine the stability of an isotope by measuring its half-life, which is the time it takes for half of the atoms in a sample to decay. If an isotope has a long half-life, it is considered stable.
Why is silver radioactive?
Silver itself is not radioactive. However, certain isotopes of silver can be radioactive. For example, silver-108 and silver-110 are radioactive isotopes with long half-lives that can undergo radioactive decay. These isotopes are not commonly found in nature.
How is radiosotope-dating done?
Radiometric dating, including radiocarbon dating, uses the natural decay process of unstable isotopes to determine the age of rocks, fossils, and other geological materials. By measuring the remaining amount of a radioactive isotope and its stable daughter product, scientists can calculate how long it has been since the material formed. This method is based on the principle that the rate of decay of a radioactive isotope is constant over time.
Do radioactive isotopes disintegrate easily?
There is a very wide range of half-life for different radioactive isotopes, ranging from the billions of years to very small fractions of a second. So some isotopes disintegrate immediately, and others last a very long time.
Radioactive dating of rock samples is a method?
used to determine the age of rocks and minerals by measuring the abundance of certain radioactive isotopes within them. This method relies on the fact that radioactive isotopes decay at a known rate over time. By measuring the ratio of parent isotopes to daughter isotopes, scientists can calculate how long it has been since the rock or mineral formed.
