1

2/28/2011 1
Radioactivity
2/28/2011 2
Nuclear mass is slightly less than mass of constituent protons
and neutrons due to nuclear binding energy E
B
.
E
B
(nuclear) = [ Z m
H
c
2
+ N m
n
c
2
] [ M
A
c
2
]
where m
H
= 1.007825amu and m
n
= 1.008665 amu
Nucleus: Binding Energy, E
B
Binding energy per nucleon
peaks at A = 56
(~8 MeV/nucleon) and
slowly decreases.
Energy is released when a
heavy nucleus (A~200)
fissions into lighter nuclei
near A~60.
Parts Whole
Nucleon Number A
B
i
n
d
i
n
g

E
n
e
r
g
y

/

N
u
c
l
e
o
n

(

M
e
V
)
Peaks at Fe
(A = 56)
Fission
(A ~ 200)
2/28/2011 3
Radioactivity
Radioactivity is the
spontaneous emission of
radiation
Experiments suggested that
radioactivity was the result of
the decay, or disintegration, of
unstable nuclei
2/28/2011 4
This is the process of
radioactive decay
So, not all atoms will be
radioactive, just a small
proportion of isotopes with
unstable nuclei.
The bulk of isotopes are
stable, or non-radioactive.
Carbon (atomic # 6) has three natural isotopes
with atomic weights of 12, 13 and 14.
isotope #p #n
====== == ==
C-12 6 6
C-13 6 7
C-14 is a radioactive isotope; C-12 and C-13 are stable.
Over time the proportion of C-12/C-14 and C-13/C-14
will increase until there is no C-14.
(unless some process makes new C-14...)
C-14 6 8
Radioactivity Inside You
Concerned about radioactivity in nature?
To keep things in perspective, consider that 0.01% of
all potassium is radioactive, K-40.
Potassium is an essential element in the human body.
If your body is about 1% K, this means a 70 kg
(150 pound) person contains around
1x10
21
atoms (thats one billion trillion atoms)
of radioactive K-40.

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2/28/2011 7
Three types of radiation can be emitted
Alpha particles
The particles are
4
He nuclei
Beta particles
The particles are either electrons or
positrons
A positron is the antiparticle of the
electron
It is similar to the electron except its
charge is +e
Gamma rays
The rays are high energy photons
2/28/2011 8
The Decay Processes :General
Rules
When one element changes into another
element, the process is called spontaneous
decay or transmutation
The sum of the mass numbers, A, must be
the same on both sides of the equation
The sum of the atomic numbers, Z, must be
the same on both sides of the equation
Conservation of mass-energy and
conservation of momentum must hold
2/28/2011 9
Alpha Decay
When a nucleus emits an alpha particle it
loses two protons and two neutrons
N decreases by 2
Z decreases by 2
A decreases by 4
Symbolically
X is called the parent nucleus
Y is called the daughter nucleus
He Y X
4
2
4 A
2 Z
A
Z
+

2/28/2011 10
Alpha Decay : Example
Decay of
226
Ra
Half-life for this
decay is 1600 years
Excess mass is
converted into
kinetic energy
Momentum of the
two particles is equal
and opposite
He Rn Ra
4
2
222
86
226
88
+
2/28/2011 11
Beta Decay
During beta decay, the daughter
nucleus has the same number of
nucleons as the parent, but the
atomic number is one less
In addition, an electron (positron)
was observed
2/28/2011 12
The emission of the electron is
from the nucleus
The nucleus contains protons
and neutrons
The process occurs when a
neutron is transformed into a
proton and an electron
Energy must be conserved

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2/28/2011 13
Beta Decay : Electron
Energy
The energy released in the
decay process should
almost all go to kinetic
energy of the electron
Experiments showed that
few electrons had this
amount of kinetic energy
To account for this
missing energy, in 1930
Pauli proposed the
existence of another
particle 2/28/2011 14
Symbolically
is the symbol for the neutrino
is the symbol for the antineutrino
To summarize, in beta decay, the
following pairs of particles are emitted
An electron and an antineutrino
A positron and a neutrino

+ +
+ +
+

+
e Y X
e Y X
A
Z
A
Z
A
Z
A
Z
1
1

2/28/2011 15
Gamma Decay
Gamma rays are given off when an excited
nucleus falls to a lower energy state
Similar to the process of electron
jumps to lower energy states and
giving off photons
The excited nuclear states result from
jumps made by a proton or neutron
The excited nuclear states may be the
result of violent collision or more likely of
an alpha or beta emission
2/28/2011 16
In gamma decay, an excited-
state nucleus decays to a
lower energy state via photon
emission.Such nuclear
transitions are analogous to
atomic transitions, but with
higher energy photons.
-ray emission usually
follows beta decay or alpha
decay
Mean lifetimes are very short.
2/28/2011 17
Example of a decay sequence
The first decay is a beta emission
The second step is a gamma
emission
The C* indicates the Carbon nucleus
is in an excited state
Gamma emission doesnt change
either A or Z
+
v + +

C * C
e * C B
12
6
12
6
12
6
12
5
2/28/2011 18
Gamma emission: no change in mass or
charge but usually part of some other
decay process.
E.g.
Electron capture: electron from electron
orbitals captured to convert proton to
neutron.
E.g. Determine product:
+ +

e N C
0
1
14
7
14
6
n e p
1
0
0
1
1
1
+

? e K +

0
1
40
19

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2/28/2011 19
Distinguishing Types of
Radiation
The gamma
particles carry no
charge
The alpha particles
are deflected
upward
The beta particles
are deflected
downward
A positron would
be deflected
upward
2/28/2011 20
The Decay Constant
The number of particles that decay in a
given time is proportional to the total
number of particles in a radioactive sample
is called the decay constant and
determines the rate at which the material
will decay
The decay rate or activity, R, of a sample is
defined as the number of decays per second
N
R N
t

A
= =
A
( ) N N t A = A
2/28/2011 21
Radioactivity: Relevant Equations
Radioactivity is the decay of nuclei to more stable
configurations via emission of radiation (o or | particles,
rays, etc.).
Decay rate dN/dt is proportional to the number of nuclei N,
leading to a 1
st
order differential equation with an exponential
solution.
where = decay constant
T
1/2
= half-life (50%
original)
0
ln
N t
No
dN
N
dt
dN
dt
N
N
t
No

=
=
| |
=
|
\ .
} }
2/28/2011 22
Decay Curve
The decay curve follows the
equation
The half-life is also a useful
parameter
The half-life is defined as the
time it takes for half of any
given number of radioactive
nuclei to decay

=
693 . 0 2 ln
T
2 1
0
t
N N e

=
2/28/2011 23
N= the number of nuclei present at time t
N
o
= the number of nuclei at time t
o
=0
= decay constant
T

= half-life
show that:

=
693 . 0 2 ln
T
2 1
2/28/2011 24
Units
The unit of activity, R, is the curie,
Ci
1 Ci = 3.7 x 10
10
decays/second
The SI unit of activity is the
becquerel, Bq
1 Bq = 1 decay / second
Therefore, 1 Ci = 3.7 x 10
10
Bq
The most commonly used units of
activity are the mCi and the Ci

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2/28/2011 25
QUICK QUIZ
What fraction of a
radioactive sample has
decayed after two half-
lives have elapsed?
2/28/2011 26
(a) 1/4 (b) 1/2 (c) 3/4
(d) not enough information to say
At the end of the first half-life interval,
half of the original sample has
decayed and half remains. During the
second half-life interval, half of the
remaining portion of the sample
decays. The total fraction of the
sample that has decayed during the
two half-lives is:
1 1 1 3
2 2 2 4
| |
+ =
|
\ .
2/28/2011 27 2/28/2011 28
Uses of Radioactivity
Carbon Dating
Beta decay of
14
C is used to date
organic samples
The ratio of
14
C to
12
C is used
2/28/2011 29
Radioactive Carbon Dating
Radioactive
14
C is produced in our atmosphere
by the bombardment of
14
N by neutrons
produced by cosmic rays.
When living organisms die, their intake of
14
C
ceases, and the ratio of
14
C /
12
C (= R)
decreases as
14
C decays. The period just
before 9000 years ago had a higher
14
C /
12
C
ratio by factor of about 1.5 than it does today.
Because the half-life of
14
C is 5730 years, it is
convenient to use the
14
C /
12
C ratio to
determine the age of objects over a range up
to 45,000 years ago.
2/28/2011 30
Example: Radiocarbon dating
The activity per mass of atmospheric carbon due to
the presence of
14
C averaged about 0.255 Bq per
gram of carbon.
a) What fraction of carbon atoms were
14
C?
b) In analyzing an archeological specimen
containing 500 mg of carbon, you observe 174
decays in one hour. What is the age of the
specimen?

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2/28/2011 31
a) find from
Alternatively,
7 11
1/2
-12 1
11
1/2
5730 (5730 )(3.156 10 / ) 1.808 10
ln2 0.693
3.83 10
1.808 10
T y y s y s
s
T
s

= = =
= = =

-4 1
0.693
1.209 10
5730
y
y

= =
2/28/2011 32
The total number of C atoms in one gram
(1/12.011 mol) is (1/12.011)(6.022 x 10
23
)
= 5.01 x 10
22
.
The ratio of
14
C atoms to all C atoms is
Only four carbon atoms in every 3 million million
are
14
C.
1
10
-12 1
/ 0.255
( ) 6.66 10
3.83 10
dN dt s
N t atoms
s

= = =

10
-12
22
6.66 10
1.33 10
5.01 10

2/28/2011 33
b) Assuming that the activity per gram of carbon
in the specimen when it died was 0.255 Bq/g
or 918 h
-1
g
-1
,
the activity of 500 mg of carbon
= (0.500 g) x (918 h
-1
g
-1
) = 459 h
-1
.
The observed activity at time t later, is 174 h
-1
.
The activity ratio 174/459 = 0.379 equals the
number ratio N(t)/N
0
. thus
0
4 1
ln( ( ) / ) ln0.379
8020
1.209 10
N t N
t y
y

= = =

2/28/2011 34
After 8020 y the 14C activity has
decreased from 459 to 174 decays per
hour. The specimen died and stopped
taking CO
2
out of the air about 8000
years ago.
2/28/2011 35
Natural Radioactivity
Classification of nuclei
Unstable nuclei found in nature
Give rise to natural radioactivity
Nuclei produced in the laboratory through
nuclear reactions
Exhibit artificial radioactivity
Three series of natural radioactivity exist
Uranium
Actinium
Thorium
2/28/2011 36

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2/28/2011 37
Decay Series
of
232
Th
Series starts
with
232
Th
Processes
through a series
of alpha and
beta decays
Ends with a
stable isotope
of lead,
208
Pb
2/28/2011 38
Problem
Which of the following are
possible reactions?
2/28/2011 39
(a) and (b). Reactions (a) and (b)
both conserve total charge and
total mass number as required.
Reaction (c) violates conservation
of mass number with the sum of
the mass numbers being 240
before reaction and being only 223
after reaction.

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