Random Nature of Radioactive Decay

The Concept of Radioactive Decay

Radioactive decay is a process in which unstable atoms lose energy by emitting radiation.
This decay is spontaneous and can occur anytime - it cannot be predicted for a single atom.
The timing of radioactive decay events are random, there is no pattern to when each atom will decay.

There are three main types of radiation emitted during radioactive decay: alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays.
These three types of radiation have different properties and effects.

Radioactive substances do not decay at a steady rate. Instead, they decay at a rate that halves over a given time - this time is called the substance’s half-life.
An atom’s half-life is constant and does not change.
Half-life can range from fractions of a second to billions of years, depending on the substance.
The half-life of a substance can be used to estimate how long it will take for half of the atoms in a sample to decay.

Half-life is important in determining the activity of a radioactive sample. Activity is measured in Becquerels (Bq) and tells us how many atoms in a sample decay per second.
Higher activity means more radiation is being emitted, which can be more dangerous.
Knowing the half-life of a substance helps us understand how long it will be before the substance becomes safe.

Half-life is also important in radioactive dating, which is used to determine the age of archaeological finds, geological formations, and even ancient works of art.
This is possible because over time a substance changes into another substance at a rate determined by its half-life.
By measuring the ratio of the original substance to the produced substance in a sample, scientists can estimate how long the decay has been happening: longer decay equals a higher ratio and therefore an older sample.