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It depends on the element. Different elements and isotopes of elements have differing half lives. You need to specify which one you are referring to.
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoThe time required for half of a sample to decay is called its half-life. It may be anywhere from a tiny fraction of a second, to billions of years - it really depends on the isotope.
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What is stable and unstable isotopes?
Some isotopes are stable, others are unstable.
How does nuclear decay impact half-life?
There is a simple connection between the random nature of nuclear decay and the half-life of a radionuclide. Any given atom of a radioactive element can undergo decay "any time it wants to" in the real world. This is the random nature of radioactive decay. We absolutely cannot tell whenthat one atom of whatever it is will decide to decay. The nuclear decay will happen when "it wants to" and we can only speak to the decay event of a given radionuclide by statistical means.We look at a vast number of the same kind of atoms and count the decay events. We do this over some determined interval of time, which can be shorter or longer, depending on how unstable the given radioisotope is. We'll then use our knowledge of how much we had to begin with and how many decay events we observed over out observation period to calculate how long it takes "about half" the material to decay. That's what a half-life is. It's a statistically derived span of time during which half the amount of a (sufficiently sized) sample of a specific radionuclide will decay and half will be left to undergo decay later on.
Why stable isotopes dont have half life long?
A stable isotope does not have a half-life because of the definition of stable versus radioactive. It is stable, and does not decay; thus, it has no half-life. Only unstable, i.e. radioactive isotopes have half-lives. There are some isotopes that are thought to be unstable, but for which we have been unable to measure the half-life because it is so long. These are examples of some of the primordial nuclides, such as Ta-180m, estimated to have a half-life in excess of 1015 years, far longer than the known age of the universe.
30 gram of a radioactive substance that has a half-life of 2 days after 2 days how much will be left?
With radioactive decay, predicting when any individual atom will decay is nearly impossible. However, when a lot a particles are present, then it is possible to get a general idea of how much will decay in a certain period of time. The half-life is this measurement, and it is the time that it takes for one halfof the substance to decay. Hence half-life or how long it takes for half to "die".For any size sample of a substance, the half-life is how long it takes for half to be left, so for a substance with a half-life of 2 days, half of the substance will decay in two days. Therefore your answer is simply half of 30g which is 15g.Additional reading: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_decay
What does the half life of a radioactive substance indicate?
It indicates how long it takes for the material to decay.
When does an isotope undergo Decay?
An atom of a given isotope will undergo radioactive decay whenever it feels like it. No joke. The nucleus of a radioactive isotope is unstable. Always. But that atom has no predictable moment of instability leading immediately to the decay event. We use something called a half life to estimate how long it will take for half a given quantity of an isotope to undergo radioactive decay until half the original amount is left, but this is a statistically calculated period. No one knows how long it will take a given atom of a radioactive isotope to decay, except that those with very short half lives will pretty much disappear relatively quickly.
Why is it called half-life of an atom?
The half-life of an atom is how long it takes for half of the atom's mass to radioactively decay. This occurs exponentially; therefore, after 2 of the atom's half-lives have passed, 3/4 of the atom will have decay (half during the first half-life, then half of the remaining mass, or one quarter, during the second).
When an atom undergoes radioactive decay when does it become a completely different element?
An atom of a given isotope will undergo radioactive decay whenever it feels like it. No joke. The nucleus of a radioactive isotope is unstable. Always. But that atom has no predictable moment of instability leading immediately to the decay event. We use something called a half life to estimate how long it will take for half a given quantity of an isotope to undergo radioactive decay until half the original amount is left, but this is a statistically calculated period. No one knows how long it will take a given atom of a radioactive isotope to decay, except that those with very short half lives will pretty much disappear relatively quickly.
How do scientist use the rate at which radioactive decay in rocks?
they measure how long it takes for half of its unstable molecules to turn to more stable atoms, a half life
How do scientists use the rate at which radioactive elements decay in rocks?
they measure how long it takes for half of its unstable molecules to turn to more stable atoms, a half life
What is stable and unstable isotopes?
Some isotopes are stable, others are unstable.
It takes 5.2 minutes for a 1.000 g sample of Fr-210 to decay to 0.250 g What is the half-life of Fr-210?
5.2 minutes. That's what a half-life is. It is how long an atom or isotope takes for half of it to decay.
What is the random nature of nuclear decay and how does it relate to half life?
There is a simple connection between the random nature of nuclear decay and the half-life of a radionuclide. Any given atom of a radioactive element can undergo decay "any time it wants to" in the real world. This is the random nature of radioactive decay. We absolutely cannot tell whenthat one atom of whatever it is will decide to decay. The nuclear decay will happen when "it wants to" and we can only speak to the decay event of a given radionuclide by statistical means.We look at a vast number of the same kind of atoms and count the decay events. We do this over some determined interval of time, which can be shorter or longer, depending on how unstable the given radioisotope is. We'll then use our knowledge of how much we had to begin with and how many decay events we observed over out observation period to calculate how long it takes "about half" the material to decay. That's what a half-life is. It's a statistically derived span of time during which half the amount of a (sufficiently sized) sample of a specific radionuclide will decay and half will be left to undergo decay later on.
What do you mean by radio active half life?
In any radioactive substance, individual atoms will decay randomly. There is no way to know exactly when any particular atom will decay. On average and in broad terms, however, we can predict how many atoms will decay in any given period of time, and this time varies with the isotope involved. The "half-life" of a radioactive substance is the time that it will take for half of the atoms to decay. Very radioactive isotopes will decay quickly and will have very short half-lives; slightly radioactive isotopes will decay slowly and have long half-lives.
How does nuclear decay impact half-life?
There is a simple connection between the random nature of nuclear decay and the half-life of a radionuclide. Any given atom of a radioactive element can undergo decay "any time it wants to" in the real world. This is the random nature of radioactive decay. We absolutely cannot tell whenthat one atom of whatever it is will decide to decay. The nuclear decay will happen when "it wants to" and we can only speak to the decay event of a given radionuclide by statistical means.We look at a vast number of the same kind of atoms and count the decay events. We do this over some determined interval of time, which can be shorter or longer, depending on how unstable the given radioisotope is. We'll then use our knowledge of how much we had to begin with and how many decay events we observed over out observation period to calculate how long it takes "about half" the material to decay. That's what a half-life is. It's a statistically derived span of time during which half the amount of a (sufficiently sized) sample of a specific radionuclide will decay and half will be left to undergo decay later on.
What is the half-lie of a radioisotope?
That would be "half-life". That means, how long does it take for half of the atoms in a sample to decay (convert into some other type of atom). Depending on the specific isotope, this "half-life" can be anything from a tiny fraction of a second, to billions of years.
Why stable isotopes dont have half life long?
A stable isotope does not have a half-life because of the definition of stable versus radioactive. It is stable, and does not decay; thus, it has no half-life. Only unstable, i.e. radioactive isotopes have half-lives. There are some isotopes that are thought to be unstable, but for which we have been unable to measure the half-life because it is so long. These are examples of some of the primordial nuclides, such as Ta-180m, estimated to have a half-life in excess of 1015 years, far longer than the known age of the universe.
