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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.

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9y ago

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What are 3 terms that mean radioactive decay?

Dental Caries is the scientific name for 'tooth decay.'


The rate of decay of a radioactive element is measured by its what?

The rate of decay of a radioactive element is measured by its half-life, which is the time it takes for half of a sample of the element to decay. This measurement is used to determine the stability or instability of the element and to predict its rate of decay over time.


What produces a alpha wave?

If you mean "alpha radiation", that is the result of certain types of radioactive decay.


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.


Is carbon-14 decay specific or universal to the earth?

I am not quite sure what you mean, but radioactive isotopes such as carbon-14 will have the same radioactive properties - i.e., they will decay - anywhere in the Universe, not just on Earth. In general, the laws of nature are believed to be the same everywhere.


What does it mean if a isotope is stable?

An isotope is considered stable if it does not undergo radioactive decay over time. This means that the nucleus of the isotope is not prone to breaking down and releasing radiation. Stable isotopes have a balance of protons and neutrons that make them resistant to spontaneous changes.


What does it mean for an isotpe to be radioactive?

An isotope is radioactive if it undergoes spontaneous decay, emitting particles or radiation in the process. This decay results in the transformation of the atomic nucleus into a different element or a different isotope of the same element.


Does half-life mean half of somethings lifespan?

It is the amount of time a radioactive atom takes to decay and have half of what its original mass was. Example: an atom has 20g, one half-life later it has 10g, and then 5g and then 2.5, etc.


What is the most dangerous radioactive decay?

that depends on how you define dangerous.if you mean difficult to shield against, the answer is gammaif you mean causes most damage if ingested, the answer is alpha


What is the significance of decay constant?

Physically, the time constant represents the time it takes the system's step response to reach 1-1/e (approx 63.2% of its final value). In radioactive decay the time constant is called the decay constant (λ), and it represents both the mean lifetime of a decaying system (such as an atom) before it decays, or the time it takes for all but 36.8% of the atoms to decay. For this reason, the time constant is reciprocal of mean life.


What does it mean if you feel like throwing up and you are dizzy cold and your looking pale?

It means that ur period is coming soon or if it hasnt started u have pms


What is the half lie of a radioisotope?

The half-life of a radioisotope is the time it takes for half of the radioactive nuclei in a sample to decay. It is a characteristic property of each radioisotope and determines the rate at which the isotopes decay.