For most practical cases, there is no way to do so. For instance, the temperature has hardly any influence on such a half-life.However, in certain extreme circumstances it is possible to make an atom decay (or fuse with other atoms) - for example, with temperatures of millions of degrees, or bombarding the atoms with neutrons or some other particles.
it cannot be changed at all. each isotope of an element has a fixed unalterable decay constant.
Nope.
The rate of decay (activity) of a radioactive isotope is proportional to the number of atoms of the isotope present.
The rate of decay of a radioactive element cannot be influenced by any physical or chemical change. It is a rather constant phenomenon that appears to be independent of all others. The rate of decay is given by an element's half life, which is the amount of time for approximately half of the atoms to decay.
The radioactive decay of americium 241 is by alpha disintegration; the disintegration of radioactive krypton isotopes is by beta particles emission.
ernest Rutherford _______________________________________________________________ Radioactive decay was actually discovered in 1896 by Henri Bacquerel. Ernest Rutherford discovered the formula of radioactive decay (Such as the falk-life, differences between alpha and beta decay and even how the elements become new elements after the decay), but he did not discover the radioactive decay himself.
You can't just start or stop radioactive decay. A certain type of atom (a certain isotope) will basically ALWAYS decay at a certain rate. The statement might refer to what happens at time t = 0, i.e., before the material had time to decay.
The rate cannot be changed.
Pressure does not affect the rate of radioactive decay. That is entirely unaffected by the environment within the nucleus of the atom.
The rate of decay (activity) of a radioactive isotope is proportional to the number of atoms of the isotope present.
The rate of decay (activity) of a radioactive isotope is proportional to the number of atoms of the isotope present.
no
Radioactive decay falls under chemistry, because the chemical properties of the substance are changed during radioactive decay.
This the decay (disintegration) rate.
fossils
For all practical purposes, No. However, there is a very small effect on some elements due to pressure (E.g. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/181/4105/1164), there is a small effect upon Beta Decay due to magnetic field strength, and there is an effect due to ionization.
The atomic mass of a radioactive atoms is changed during the radioactive decay (alpha decay, neutron decay, proton decay, double proton decay), spontaneous or artificial fission, nuclear reactions.
Because radioactive decay happens at a constant rate. Once you figure out the rate of decay, called the half life, you can date stuff.
The rate of decay for a radioactive sample