Radioactivity

Modes Of Decay
 Radioactivity
Spontaneous disintegration or decay of the
nucleus of an atom by emission of particles,
usually accompanied by electromagnetic
radiation.
Alfa
Beta
Gamma called
as
Alpha Radiation
Beta Radiation
 Discovery

 Radioactivity was first discovered in 1896

 By the French scientist HENRI BECQUEREL
 In the experiment of phosphorescent.
 Using uranium salts.
 These radiations were called Becquerel
rays
 Ernest Rutherford, Paul Villard, Pierre Curie
, Marie Curie. Discovered of radioactivity
was producing very different types of
material.
 Types of elements
particle

 Natural radioactivity
elements: Occurs in universe
naturally
uranium, thorium,
radium and the
isotopes carbon 14,
radon 222 and
potassium 40
 Unstable nucleus, emit
radiation, present in earth
 Artificial
 Man made substances
 By bombarding natural atoms with
protons or alpha particles
 Used in medical and therapeutic
procedure. Safe measurements are
taken to made.
 Type of emission
 nuclear fission and nuclear fusion
 Nuclear fission and Nuclear fusion

 Fusion is the "building" of atomic nuclei,

 Fission is the "breaking" or "splitting" of
atomic nuclei.
 Fusion is the bonding of atomic nuclei or
nuclear particles (nucleons - protons and
neutrons) to make "bigger" or "heavier"
atomic nuclei.
 Fission, on the other hand is the splitting of
the atom.
 As the atoms fuse or split they release
Nuclear fission VS Nuclear Fusion
 Fission produces •Few radioactive
many highly particles are
radioactive particles produced by fusion
reaction, but if a
fission "trigger" is
used, radioactive
particles will result
from that.
 Fission reaction does •Fusion occurs nature
not normally occur in in stars,
nature. such as the sun
 The energy released •The energy released by
by fission is a million fusion is three to four
times greater than times greater than the
that released in energy released by
chemical reactions; fission.
but lower than the
energy released by •One class of nuclear
nuclear fusion. weapon is the hydrogen
 One class of nuclear bomb, which uses a
weapon is a fission fission reaction to
bomb, also known as "trigger" a fusion reaction.
an atomic bomb or
 Radioactive Decay
 The nuclei of elements exhibiting radioactivity are
unstable and
( gradual
breakdown).
 Emitting alpha, beta, or gamma rays until stability is
reached.
( has a definite
lifetime)
 Time of decay of an individual nucleus is
unpredictable.
 The lifetime of a radioactive substance is not
affected in any way by any physical or chemical
conditions.
 Parent- unstable nucleus
 Daughter- more stable product
nucleus
 Particles which emit from element
to get stabile nature.
 This is known as transition energy.
And decay process.
 Nucleus composition
Types
 Isotopes = Nuclides with same atomic
no. Z
 Isobars = Nuclides with same mass no. A
 Isotones =Nuclides with same neutron
no. N
Z = Atomic number,
(Number of protons)
N = neutron number,
A = Mass number, A=Z+N
 Activity

 The quantity of radioactive

materials undergoing nuclear
transformation per unit time (t).
A = -dN/dt

 Expressed in Bq
 States that the no. of nuclei
decaying per second (the
activity) is directly
proportional to the no. of
nuclei present
 -dN/dt  N
 -dN/dt = constant N
 -dN/dt = λN
 where λ is the decay
constant
Radioactive decay rates

 The decay rate, or activity, of a

radioactive substance are
characterized :
 half-life — symbol t1/2 — the time
taken for the activity of a given
amount of a radioactive substance
to decay to half of its initial value.
 mean lifetime — symbol τ — the
average lifetime of a radioactive
particle.
 decay constant — symbol λ — the
 Time-variable quantities:

 Total activity — symbol A — number of

decays an object undergoes per second.
 Number of particles — symbol N —
the total number of particles in the
sample.
 Specific activity — symbol SA —
number of decays per second per
amount of substance. (The "amount of
substance" can be the unit of either
mass or volume.)
The decay of an unstable nucleus is
entirely random and it is impossible
to predict when a particular atom
will decay

A = |N/  t|

A = N= No e t

Ao = No

A(t) = Ao e t
Modes of radioactive decay

 Alpha Radiation
 Beta Radiation
 Gamma Radiation
 Alpha Radiation
 least penetrating power,
 Move at a slower velocity than the other types,
 Deflected slightly by a magnetic ( positive charge).
 Alpha rays are nuclei of ordinary helium atoms .
 Reduces the atomic weight, or mass number, of a
nucleus
 Uranium-238 by the emission of alpha particles.
 Alpha Decay

A A-4 4

Z
X Z-2
Y + 2
He

unstable atom alpha particle

more stable atom
 Beta Radiation

 More penetrating than alpha rays, high speed,

 Negative charge.
 Beta radiation was identified and named by E.
Rutherford.
 The electron ejected from the nucleus, and the
net result is an increase of 1 in the atomic
number of the nucleus but no change in the
mass number.
 Thorium-234
 Beta (-) , Beta (+)
 a neutron in the nucleus is
transformed into a proton and an
electron.
 n p ⁺ + e⁻ + v + energy
 The electron (e⁻) and the neutrino (v)
are ejected from the nucleus and carry
away the energy released in the
process as kinetic energy.
 Decay by (ß⁻ ,γ ) emission.
 Rather than ground state, ( daughter
nucleus) promptly decays to a more
stable.
Isomeric transition (IT) and
internal conversion (IC)
 Long lived metastable or isomeric state as
opposed to an excited state.
 The decay of the metastable or isomeric
state by the emission of a γ ray is called an
isomeric transition.
 Process the nucleus decays by transferring
energy to an orbital electron which is ejected,
instead of the γ ray were internally absorbed
by collision with an orbital electron.
 Electron capture (EC) and ( EC, γ) decay.
 Inverse ß⁻ decay. Auger electrons,
 Gamma Radiation

 Gamma rays have very great

penetrating power and are not affected
at all by a magnetic field.
 They move at the speed of light
 type of electromagnetic radiation. most
energetic form of electromagnetic
radiation,
 transitions of electrons within the atom
 Gamma decay often accompanies alpha
or beta decay and affects neither the
atomic number nor the mass number of
The decay of meta-stable
nucleus by emission of
gamma ray.
 Half-Life of an Element

 The rate of disintegration of a

radioactive substance is commonly
designated by its Half life.
 One half-life is the time required for
one half of any given quantity of the
substance to decay.

 Depending on the element, a half-life

can be as short as a fraction of a
second or as long as several billion
years.