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It disintegrates into its daughter nuclei that are much more stabler than the radioactive nuclei. If a sample of radioacictive material is left it will decay into another element over a period of time. Note that complete decay is not possible. A fraction of the original radioactive material will always remain in the sample.
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What is the time it takes for the amount of a radioactive parent material to decrease by one-half called?
half-life people
What does the half life of a radioisotope represent?
It tells what fraction of a radioactive sample remains after a certain length of time.
What is the difference between radioactive decay and radiometric dating?
It is the difference between sand running out of an hour glass and determining what time it is by how much sand is left. Radioactive decay happens at a steady rate. If you can determine how much of that radioactive isotope ought to have been in a sample at the start and you can measure how much is left, you can tell how much time has passed.
What happens when a cold material interacts with hot material?
The heat from the hot material is transferred to the cold material. Given enough time, eventually the two materials will be the same temperature, and no more heat will be transferred between them.
How long does it takes a radioactive material to decay?
Nuclear explosions produce both immediate and delayed destructive effects. Immediate effects (blast, thermal radiation, prompt ionizing radiation) are produced and cause significant destruction within seconds or minutes of a nuclear detonation. The delayed effects (radioactive fallout and other possible environmental effects) inflict damage over an extended period ranging from hours to centuries, and can cause adverse effects in locations very distant from the site of the detonation. Further reading: http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Nwfaq/Nfaq5.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fallout
What happens to radioactive materials if you do not use them?
That depends on the radioactive material. But whether you use it or not, the radioactive material will decay into other elements over the course of time. The time it takes for half of the material to decay into something else is called the "half-life". The more radioactive the substance is, the faster it decays. The half-life of a radioactive element can be measured from fractions of a second to billions of years.
What happens to the radioactive isotopes that are released in a nuclear reaction?
they decay over time
What is the process by which an element slowly decays over time?
It is through radioactive decay that a quantity of an unstable element will decay over time. A material that is unstable will undergo this process, and the sample is said to be radioactive.
What does the half life of a radioisotope correspond to?
The length of time required for half of a sample of radioactive material to decay
Over time what will happend to the radioactive atom?
They experience radioactive decay. They emit radiation, changing the state of their nucleus, usually by the loss of protons and neutrons. However, this process is completely random; it can only be predicted as a half-life, or the amount of time it takes half of a certain material to decay. This does not predict when an individual atom will decay, it only predicts when approximately half of the material will have decayed.
What does it mean when radioactive decay hasn't started yet?
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.
What are the physical characteristics of the material?
- a radioactive material emit nuclear radiations as alpha, beta, gamma, neutrons - a radioactive material disintegrate in time
What is radioactive dating based on?
The half-life of the radioactive material.
What is the change in isotopes over time due to the emission of radioactive particles is known as?
You think probable to radioactive decay.
How does the length of the half-life of the element correspond to the radioactivity of the element?
The length of time required for half of a sample of radioactive material to decay
How is a radioactive element of decay like the ticking of a clock?
The ticking of a clock is constant, occurring at a steady rhythm/frequency. While the decay of radioactive elements cannot be determined at a particular point in time, they do decay at a fairly steady rate over time. This allows you to statistically determine the rate at which a mass of radioactive material will steadily decay. So, the decay rate is steady, predictable, and follows a sort of rhythm over time just like the ticking of a clock.
What is difference between ageing and vulcanization?
Ageing is what happens over time to the material; vulcanization is a process whereby something hardens.
