Radioactivity: alpha, beta, gamma decay
Nuclear Chemistry · Chemistry
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Study notes
²³⁸U decays by alpha emission to ²³⁴Th. A sample's activity halves in 4.5 billion years. What is the decay constant? Step 1: t½ = 0.693/λ. Step 2: λ = 0.693/(4.5×10⁹ yr) ≈ 1.54×10⁻¹⁰ yr⁻¹. Step 3: Convert: ≈ 4.9×10⁻¹⁸ s⁻¹ — incredibly slow, which is why uranium still exists! Step 4: Alpha particle = helium nucleus, ⁴₂He.