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A radioactive atom will go through subsequent decay events until it is inert. The series of elements it goes through are called the decay chain, in which each isotope is radioactive except the last, which is radiologically inert, and so undergoes no further decay. An example of such a chain is that of thorium-232:

  1. thorium-232
  2. radon-228
  3. actinium-228
  4. thorium-228
  5. radium-224
  6. radon-220
  7. polonium-216
  8. lead-212
  9. bismuth-212
  10. polonium-212 or thallium-208 (some quantity of each in a given mass)
  11. lead-208
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