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Half-life (symbol t½) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable atoms survive. The term is also used more generally to characterize any type of exponential (or, rarely ...
Radioactive decay is a random process at the level of single atoms. According to quantum theory, it is impossible to predict when a particular atom will decay, regardless of how long the atom has existed. [2] [3] [4] However, for a significant number of identical atoms, the overall decay rate can be expressed as a decay constant or as half-life. The half-lives of radioactive atoms have a huge ...
A quantity is subject to exponential decay if it decreases at a rate proportional to its current value. Symbolically, this process can be expressed by the following differential equation, where N is the quantity and λ ( lambda) is a positive rate called the exponential decay constant, disintegration constant, [1] rate constant, [2] or transformation constant: [3]
In nuclear physics, beta decay (β-decay) is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits a beta particle (fast energetic electron or positron ), transforming into an isobar of that nuclide. For example, beta decay of a neutron transforms it into a proton by the emission of an electron accompanied by an antineutrino; or ...
Decay technique. In chemistry, the decay technique is a method to generate chemical species such as radicals, carbocations, and other potentially unstable covalent structures by radioactive decay of other compounds. For example, decay of a tritium -labeled molecule yields an ionized helium atom, which might then break off to leave a cationic ...
Biochemistry is the study of the chemicals, chemical reactions and interactions that take place at a molecular level in living organisms. Biochemistry is highly interdisciplinary, covering medicinal chemistry, neurochemistry, molecular biology, forensics, plant science and genetics.
^ The actual probability of decay of one quark to another is a complicated function of (among other variables) the decaying quark's mass, the masses of the decay products, and the corresponding element of the CKM matrix. This probability is directly proportional (but not equal) to the magnitude squared (|Vij |2) of the corresponding CKM entry.
A photon (from Ancient Greek φῶς, φωτός (phôs, phōtós) 'light') is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force.