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In a reactor, or atomic bomb, uranium 235 (for example) will not always split into the same kinds of atoms; rather, different kinds of waste products can be produced. Some of them will decay faster, some slower. The real problem is with products that have a half-life of a few decades or centuries. If a product (like uranium itself) has a half-life of billions of years, the radiation it gives off will not be very significant. If on the other hand a product has a half-life of days - well, the radiation will be very strong, but after a few weeks not much is left. However, part of the nuclear waste can remain for decades or centuries, and still give off a significant amount of radiation. No specific timeframe can be given - if (say) a certain isotope has a half-life of 50 years, that means that after 50 years, half of the substance will be left; after another 50 years, a quarter of the original substance, etc. It will not suddenly disappear at a certain moment; but after several times the half-life, the amount left will be insignificant. On the other hand, the by-products of this decay can again be other radioactive isotopes.
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What is a radioactive decay of the spent fuel?
The nuclear fission process produces a range of lighter elements as fission products, and many of these are radioactive.
How many years is the useful life of a nuclear fission reactor?
Currently, it is 60 years
How many years will it take for 10 g of radioactive uranium to decay into 5 g of radioactive uranium?
5,730 years
Uranium 235 can be split using what?
Usually a small subatomic particle such as a neutron, since it does not contain any charge and thus is not repelled by the positively charged nucleus, and it is massive enough to give enough energy to split the uranium nucleus.
What triggers an unstable nucleus to decay?
When a nucleus is unstable it has either too many or too few neutrons in the nucleus. This is what causes nuclear decay as the nucleus needs to have the correct ratio of neutrons to protons to be stable. It may be triggered by an outside force, such as a colliding particle, or simply by chance.
Will nuclear waste be dangerous to future generations?
Absolutely ! Nuclear waste takes hundreds - perhaps thousands of years to decay. Many generations of people to come will have to manage the storage and disposal of nuclear waste.
How many decay does 100 years?
If you mean decades then there are 10 decades in 100 years
What is a radioactive decay of the spent fuel?
The nuclear fission process produces a range of lighter elements as fission products, and many of these are radioactive.
Where do nuclear decay occur naturally?
Radioactive Decay occurs naturally all around us. If you test for radiation with a Geiger Counter, you will find that it picks up radiation in the air around you. Mostly, however, radioactive decay occurs in the earth's crust. I cannot name a specific element, as there are many that decay.
How many years has nuclear fission been used?
About seventy years.
How many radioactive isotopes are there in Zirconium?
Zr 94: half life 1,1.1017 years, double beta decay Zr 96: half life 2,0.1019 years, double beta decay
Particles or waves given off by atoms undergoing nuclear decay produce?
Produce a large amount of heat and energy which is utilized for many purposes
How many years of experience do you need to become a nuclear reactor system engineer?
my cousin became a nuclear reactor engineer and he said it was about 12 years
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.
How many years is the useful life of a nuclear fission reactor?
Currently, it is 60 years
How many years to complete nuclear medicine degree?
20 kwadrillion
How many years will it take for 10 g of radioactive uranium to decay into 5 g of radioactive uranium?
5,730 years
