Radioactive Disintegration:

Atoms of heavy elements like uranium, thorium, polonium and radium etc. are constantly breaking up into fresh radioactive atoms with the emission of -, - and -rays from their nuclei. In this process, the original (or parent) atom disappears and gives rise to new (daughter) atom. These new atoms are also, in general, radioactive and hence spontaneously break up in their turn, thereby leading to a long chain of different radioactive elements in the form of a series until an inactive element is reached. This spontaneous breaking up of the nucleus is known as radioactive disintegration or radioactive decay. The disintegration process may proceed in one of the following ways:
1.

-particle emission.
When an -particle (42He) is emitted from the nucleus of an atom (called the parent element) the nucleus of the new element formed (called the daughter element) possesses atomic mass number less by four units and nuclear charge less by two units because particle has an atomic mass of four units and nuclear charge of two units. We can write them as , or, because they're the same as a helium nucleus, .Alpha particles are relatively slow and heavy. They have a low penetrating power they can be stopped with just a sheet of paper. Because they have a large charge, alpha particles ionize other atoms strongly. Thus an atom of radium (226 88Ra ) changes on emission of an -particle into an atom of radon (22286Rn).The disintegration of 22688Ra into 22286Rn can be represented by the following equation which is called nuclear equation.
226 88Ra 222 86Rn

+ + 42He

Or
226 88Ra 222 86Rn

Americium-241 (an -source used in smoke detectors), which has an atomic number of 95 and an atomic mass of 241, will decay to Neptunium-237 (which has an atomic number of 93 and an atomic mass of 237).

Alpha-decay occurs in very heavy elements, for example, Uranium and Radium. These heavy elements have too many protons to be stable. They can become more stable by emitting an alpha particle. The decay of an isotope of the element seaborgium, 263Sg:

263

Sg

259

Rf + 4He

2. -particle emission
A -particle is just an electron and hence its symbol is 0-1e. Since ejection of a particle is also followed by the emission of -ray, -ray is also included in the equation. When a -particle (0-1e ) is emitted from the nucleus of an element , the nucleus of the new element formed possesses the same atomic weight but the positive charge , will be increased by one unit because the electron has one unit of negative charge with practically no mass. Thus the transformation of lead (21082Pb) into bismuth (21083Bi) can be shown as :
210 82Pb

210 83Bi

+ 0-1e - -ray

Strontium-90 undergoes decay and forms Yttrium-90.

The isotope 14C is unstable and emits a particle, becoming the stable isotope 14N:

14

C ----> 14N + e- +

Beta decay occurs in very "neutron-rich" elements, for example, Strontium-90 and Iodine-130. These elements are typically created in nuclear reactors. These elements have too few protons and too many neutrons to be stable. They can thus become more stable by emitting a beta particle It is believed that in a -particle emission , a neutron is converted into a proton (0+1p) ,an electron (0-1e) and a neutrino (00v).The neutrino has zero mass and zero charge and is postulated to balance the spins. Thus:

Neutron
1 0n

Proton + Electron +Neutrino

1 +1p

+0-1e + 00v

The electron produced escapes as a -particle leaving the proton behind in the nucleus. The increase in the atomic number of the nucleus by one unit as due to this proton left in the nucleus.

3. -ray emission.
-rays are short wave electro magnetic radiations with no charge and no mass. Thus the emission of -rays from a radio-active element will not produce a new element. The emission of -rays only results in decrease in energy of the nucleus. When or -particle is ejected from the nucleus, it is left in an excited state and emits -rays.
152

Dy* ----> 152Dy +

Laws of Radioactive Disintegration

Radioactive disintegration is found to obey the following two laws: 1. Atoms of all radioactive elements are undergoing spontaneous disintegration i.e., are constantly breaking to form fresh radioactive products with the emission of ,- and rays. 2. The rate of breaking is not affected by external factors like temperature ,pressure, chemical combination , etc. but depends entirely on the law of chance ,i.e., the number of atoms breaking per second at any instant is proportional to the number present. In other words, the quantity of a radioactive element which disintegrates in unit time is directly proportional to the amount of the radioactive element present. Suppose an element A disintegrates into another element B. Let the number of atoms of A in the beginning (i.e., at t = 0) be N0. Now as the time passes, the element A

undergoes continuous disintegration into B and hence the number of atoms of A goes on decreasing. Let the number of atoms of A left undisintegrated in time t be N. Thus:

A
At t =0 At t=t N0 N

If dN atoms of A disintegrates in a small time dt , then the rate of disintegration (i.e., rate of decrease) of A into B which is also called Activity is equal to proportional to N , i.e. Or which is

Here is a constant of proportionality which has been called by Rutherford and Soddy an radioactive constant. Since the intensity and the number of atoms of A decrease with time , the rate of disintegration has been indicated by negative sign. The differential equation can be written as dt Integrating we have

Now when Therefore Substituting in

t = 0, N= N0
0

=C ,we get

Or Therefore

This decay equation may be used to find the number of the atoms of the original kind present at any time t

If M0 is the original mass of the material and M its present mass, then

Radioactive constant:
The equation

N may be written as

Radioactive constant may be defined as the ratio of the amount of the substance which disintegrates in a unit time to the amount of the substance present.

Radioactive Disintegration Series

A radioactive element disintegrates by the emission of an or -particle from the nucleus to form a new daughter element. The process of disintegration and formation of a new element continues till a non-radioactive stable element is the product. The whole series of elements starting with the parent radioactive element to the stable end-product is called a Radioactive Disintegration Series. Sometime, it is referred to as a Radioactive Decay Series or simply Radioactive Series. Following are some radioactive disintegration series: The Uranium Series The Thorium Series The Actinium Series The Neptunium Series

The Uranium Series

The Uranium series commences with the parent element Uranium238 and terminates with the stable element Lead-206.It derives its name from Uranium-238 which is the prominent member of the series and has the longest half-life.

The Thorium Series

The Thorium Series begins with the parent element thorium-232 and ends with lead208 which is stable. This series gets its name from the prominent member thorium-232.

1.39x 1010 y

6.7 y 6.13 h

3.64 days 54.5 s 0.158 s

1.90 y

10.6 h

60.6 min

3x 10-7 s Stable

3.1min

H N ucli de istor ic Na me (Sho rt) H istoric Name (Long) D ecay Mod e alf Life H nerg y Relea sed, Mev

E rod uct Of Dec ay

2 52

Cf
2

2 .645 a 3 .4 10 5 a 8 107 a 1 4.1 h 39 1 .032 h .2 6 561 a 2 .3107 a 1 .4051 010a 5 .75 a .046 6 .25 h 1 .124 .1683 .1181

48

C m
2

48

C m
2

6 .260 4 .589 .
40 40 44

Pu
2

44

Pu
2

U
2

40

U
2

Np
2

40

N p
2

2
40

Pu
2

40

Pu
2

5
36

U
2

4 .494 4 .081 0
28 28 32

36

U
2

Th
2

T h

32

Th
2

T horium M esothori um 1 M esothori um 2 R adiothor ium T horium X

Ra
2

M sTh1

28

Ra
2

Ac
2

M sTh2

28

Ac
2

2
28

Th
2

R dTh

28

Th
2

.9116 a 3 .6319 d

5 .520 5 .789
20 24

Ra
2

T hX

24

Ra

Rn

2 20

T n horon T hA

T T horium A T horium B T horium C T horium C' T horium C" .

Rn
2

5 5.6 s 0 .145 s 1 0.64 h .570 6 0.55 min 2 99 ns 3 .053 min . .999 .955 .252 6.208 .906 .404

6
16

Po
2

6
12

16

Po
2

Pb
2

T hB

0
12

12

Pb

Bi
2

2
12 208

2 12

T hC

Bi

64.0 6% 35. 94% s table

Po Tl
2

2 12

T hC'

8
08

Po
2

Pb
2

T hC"

4
08

08

Tl
2

Pb

08

Pb

Thorium series

The Actinium series

The actinium series starts with the radioactive element uranium-235. The end-product is the stable element lead-207.This series derives its name from the prominent member actinium-227.

Stable

H N ucli de isto ric Na me (Sh ort) H istoric Name (Long) D ecay Mode alf Life H nerg y Rele ased, Mev

E rod uct Of Dec ay 5 .244 7 .041 08 a 2 5.52 h 3 98.62 % 1.38 % 99.99 4% 0.006 %
35

2 39

2 A cU A ctin Uranium U ranium Y

Pu
2

.411 04 a

U
2

4 .678 0 .391 5 .150

27 31 31

35

U
2

Th
2

31

T h
2

U Y

Pa
2

31

Pa
2

2760 a 2 1.772 a 1 8.68 d 2 2.00 min 1

Ac
2

27

A c
2

A c

A ctinium R adioactin ium A ctinium K A ctinium X

0 .045 5.042 6 .147 1 .149 5.340 5 .979

27

223

Th F r
2

27

T h
2

R dAc

23

Ra
2

A cK

23

23

Fr
2

219

Ra A t
2

23

R a
2

A cX

97.00 %

1.43 d 5 6s

19

Rn
2

6 .275 1.700
15 219

19

At

Bi R

 3.00 %
2 19

R n
2

A n

A ctinon

3 .96 s 7 .6 min 1 .781 ms 0 .1 ms 3 6.1 min 2 .14 min 5 .751 0.575 .367 .178 .527 0.715 .250 .946

6
15

Po
2

15

Bi A ctinium A

2
15

At
2

2 15

A cA

Po
2

99.999 77% 0.00 023%

11

215

Pb A t
2

8
11

15

At
2

Bi
2

A cB

11

Pb

A ctinium B A ctinium C A ctinium C' A ctinium C"

1
11

Bi
2

2 11

A cC

Bi

99.724 % 0.27 6%

07

211

Tl P o
2

2 11

A cC'

Po
2

16 ms 4 .77 min s table

7 .595 1 .418 .
07 07

Pb
2

A cC"

07

Tl
2

Pb .

07

Pb

The Neptunium Series

The Neptunium Series consists of elements which do not occur naturally. It commences with neptunium-237 and terminates at bismuth-209. It derives its name from the prominent member neptunium-237.

Radioactive Dating
In the nineteenth century, prominent scientists such as Charles Lyell, Charles Darwin, Sir William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), and Thomas Huxley, were in continual debate about the age of the earth. The discovery of the radioactive properties of uranium in 1896 by Henri Becquerel subsequently revolutionized the way scientists measured the age of artifacts and supported the theory that the earth was considerably older than what some scientists believed. There are several methods of determining the actual or relative age of the earth's crust: examination of fossil remains of plants and animals, relating the magnetic field of ancient days to the current magnetic field of the earth, and examination of artifacts from past civilizations. However, one of the most widely used and accepted method is radioactive dating. All radioactive dating is based on the fact that a radioactive substance, through its characteristic disintegration, eventually transmutes into a stable nuclide. When the rate of decay of a radioactive substance is known, the age of a specimen can be determined from the relative proportions of the remaining radioactive material and the product of its decay. In 1907, the American chemist Bertram Boltwood demonstrated that he could determine the age of a rock containing uranium-238 and thereby proved to the scientific community that radioactive dating was a reliable method. Uranium-238, whose half-life is 4.5 billion years, transmutes into lead-206, a stable end-product. Boltwood explained that by studying a rock containing uranium-238, one can determine the age of the rock by measuring the remaining amount of uranium-238 and the relative amount of lead-206. The more lead the rock contains, the older it is. The long half-life of uranium-238 makes it possible to date only the oldest rocks. This method is not reliable for measuring the age of rocks less than 10 million years old because so little of the uranium will have decayed within that period of time. This method is also very limited because uranium is not found in every old rock. It is rarely found in sedimentary or metamorphic rocks, and is not found in all igneous rocks. Another method for dating the rocks of the earth's crust is the rubidium-87/strontium-87 method. Although the half-life of rubidium-87 is even longer than uranium-238 (49 billion years or 10 times the age of the earth), it is useful because it can be found in almost all igneous rocks. Perhaps the best method for dating rocks is the potassium-40/argon-40 method. Potassium is a very common mineral and is found in sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rock. Also, the half-life of potassium-40 is only 1.3 billion years, so it can be used to date rocks as young as 50,000 years old.

In 1947, a radioactive dating method for determining the age of organic materials, was developed by Willard Frank Libby, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1960 for his radiocarbon research. All living plants and animals contain carbon, and while most of the total carbon is carbon-12, a very small amount of the total carbon is radioactive carbon14. Libby found that the amount of carbon-14 remains constant in a living plant or animal and is in equilibrium with the environment, however once the organism dies, the carbon-14 within it diminishes according to its rate of decay. This is because living organisms utilize carbon from the environment for metabolism.

Libby, and his team of researchers, measured the amount of carbon-14 in a piece of acacia wood from an Egyptian tomb dating 2700-2600 B.C. Based on the half-life of carbon14 (5,568 years), Libby predicted that the concentration of carbon-14 would be about 50% of that found in a living tree. His prediction was correct.

Radioactive dating is also used to study the effects of pollution on an environment. Scientists are able to study recent climactic events by measuring the amount of a specific radioactive nuclide that is known to have attached itself to certain particles that have been incorporated into the earth's surface. For example, during the 1960s, when many aboveground tests of nuclear weapons occurred, the earth was littered by cesium-137 (half-life of 30.17 years) particle fallout from the nuclear weapons. By collecting samples of sediment, scientists are able to obtain various types of kinetic information based on the concentration of cesium-137 found in the samples. Lead-210, a naturally occurring radionuclide with a half-life of 21.4 years, is also used to obtain kinetic information about the earth. Radium226, a grandparent of lead-210, decays to radon-222, the radioactive gas that can be found in some basements. Because it is a gas, radon-222 exists in the atmosphere. Radon-222 decays to polonium-218, which attaches to particles in the atmosphere and is consequently rained outfalling into and traveling through streams, rivers, and lakes. Radioactive dating has proved to be an invaluable tool and has been used in many scientific fields, including geology, archeology, paleoclimatology, atmospheric science, oceanography, hydrology, and biomedicine. This method of dating has also been used to study artifacts that have received a great deal of public attention, such as the Shroud of Turin, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Egyptian tombs, and Stonehenge. Since the discovery of radioactive dating, there have been several improvements in the equipment used to measure radioactive residuals in samples. For example, with the invention of accelerator mass spectrometry, scientists have been able to date samples very accurately. A Mass Spectrometer is used to Measure Isotopic Ratios

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