Class XII/Physics

RADIOACTIVITY

The basic experimental technique for separating beams of a mixture of particles

 A radium source was used, in a lead casing .
 It was found that the original 'emission' from the radium source was
split into three beams by an electric or magnetic field (diagram on
the right).
(i) The alpha beam was attracted/deflected towards a negative
plate, showing it was positive, since opposite charges
attract/like charges repel - the rules of electric charge
interaction.

(ii) The beta beam bent towards a positive plate (showing it was
negative).

(iii) The gamma beam passed through un-deflected (showing it had no charge).

 The beta beam (smaller charge of -1) is more easily deflected because of its much smaller mass (nearly 8000 x
smaller, mass ratio for He2+ : e- is 4 : 1/1850).

Laws of Radioactive Decay

Rutherford and Soddy formulated the laws of radioactive decay, which are as follows:

1. Radioactivity is a spontaneous phenomenon.

2. The emission of an -particle results in a daughter atom, whose atomic number is 2units less and mass number is 4
units less than that of parent atom.

Z X A 
 decay
 Z 2Y A4

3. The emission of an β-particle results in a daughter atom, whose atomic number is 1unit more but mass number is same
than that of parent atom.

Z X A 
 decay
 Z 1Y A

4. The number of atoms disintegrating per second of a radioactive sample at any time is directly proportional to the
number of atoms present at that time.

According to law of radioactive decay:

Number of nuclei decay in a certain time is directly proportional to the total number of nuclei present initially.
N  N ............. (1)
Number of nuclei decay is directly proportional to time interval
N  t ................... (2)
Combining equations (1) and (2),
N  Nt
N
Or,  N ---------- (3)
t
N dN
Now, Lt  is called the rate of decay (or activity I or A) of the element at the time„t‟. Therefore, equation (3)
t 0 t dt
becomes,
dN (Negative sign indicates that N decreases with time.)
 N
dt
Or, dN
 N ---------- (4)
dt
λ is called the “radioactive constant” or the “decay constant” or “disintegration constant” of that element. Its unit is s- 1.
Large value of λ means higher decay rate and short life of the decaying element. Small value of λ means lower decay rate
and long life of the decaying element. λ is not affected by temperature, pressure, etc.
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From equation (4), we get-

dN
 dt
N
Integrating we get-
dN
 N    dt
dN
 N    dt
log e N  t  k --------- (5), where „k‟ is the constant of integration.
When t = 0 , N = No
Using the above condition, equation (5) becomes-
log e N o   0  k
Or, k  log e N o
Substituting for „k‟ in equation (5), we get-
log e N  t  log e N 0
log e N  log e N 0  t
N
log e   t
N0

 e  t
Or, N
N0
N  N 0 e  t ------------ (6)
Above equation is called the Exponential Law of Radioactive Decay or Statistical Law
of Radioactive Decay.
The graph of decay curve showing N versus t is shown in the figure.

Radioactive decay constant

According to the radioactive decay law-
dN
 N
dt
dN

Or,   dt
N
Hence, radioactive decay constant of a substance may be defined as the ratio of its instantaneous rate of disintegration to the
number of atoms present at that time.

Again, N  N 0 e  t
If t  1 , then-

1

N  N0e   N e  1  N 0  0.368 N
0 e 0

Hence, radioactive decay constant of a substance may also be defined as the reciprocal of the time, after which the number of
atoms of a radioactive substance decreases to 0.368 of their number present initially.

HALF LIFE
“The time during which the nuclei of the atoms of the radioactive substance will disintegrate, is called its half life
( T 1 or  1 )”.
2 2

N0
Putting N = at t  T 1 in the equation N  N 0 e  t , we get-
2 2

N0  T 1
 N0e 2
2

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 Class XII/Physics
 T 1 1
e 2

2
T 1
Or, e 2
2
Or, T 1  log e 2  0.693
2
0.693 -------------- (7)
T1 
2 
Thus, the half-life of a radioactive substance is inversely proportional to its decay constant.

Units of radioactivity

The activity of a radioactive source is measured in ...

o Becquerel units (Bq, s-1), 1 Becquerel = 1 disintegration of an unstable nucleus per second.
o Curie (Ci, 3.7 x 1010 s-1), 1 curie = 3.7 x 1010 disintegrations per second.
o Rutherford (rd, 106 s-1), 1 Rutherford= 106 disintegrations per second.
o 1 curie = 3.7 x 104 Rutherford

Radioactive decay

Many nuclei are radioactive. This means they are unstable, and will eventually decay by emitting a particle, transforming
the nucleus into another nucleus, or into a lower energy state. A chain of decays takes place until a stable nucleus is
reached. During radioactive decay, principles of conservation apply. Some of these we've looked at already, but the last is a
new one:
 conservation of energy
 conservation of momentum (linear and angular)
 conservation of charge
 conservation of nucleon number
Conservation of nucleon number means that the total number of nucleons (neutrons + protons) must be the same before
and after a decay.

Types of Radioactive Decay

Alpha decay

 In alpha decay, the nucleus emits an alpha particle.

4
 Alpha particle (α) is a helium nucleus ( 2 He ), so it's a group of two protons and two neutrons. A helium nucleus is very
stable.
 The α-decay is represented as-
A 4
Z X  Z  2Y  2 He 4  E , where E is the energy released during the α-decay.
A

 During α-decay, the atomic number decreases by 2 and the mass number decreases by 4.

 An example of an alpha decay involving uranium-238:

 Most atoms with an atomic number of over 82 (Pb) usually undergo alpha decay.

 Alpha particles do not travel far in air before being absorbed; this makes them very safe for use in smoke detectors, a
common household item.

The process of transforming one element to another is known as transmutation.

Beta decay

 A beta particle is an electron of nuclear origin. A neutron in the nucleus changes spontaneously into a proton and a high
kinetic energy electron (forms the emitted beta particle) along with an uncharged particle called anti-neutrino.

 A beta-decay occurs in case of nuclei, which possess a higher value of neutron to proton ratio than that of the stable
nuclei.

 During -decay, the atomic number increases by 1 and the mass number remains the same.

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 The -decay is represented as-
Z X A  Z 1Y A  1 e 0   , where  is the anti-neutrino.

 An example of an beta decay

6 C 14 7 N 14  1 e 0  
Gamma decay

 The third class of radioactive decay is gamma decay, in which the nucleus changes from a higher-level energy state to a
lower level.

 When a 'new' nucleus is formed it tends to have excess energy making it potentially unstable. To become more 'nuclear
stable' the nucleus loses some energy as a burst of gamma
radiation but the proton and neutron numbers do not change.

Similar to the energy levels for electrons in the atom, the nucleus has
energy levels. When an electron changes levels, the energy involved is
usually a few eV, so a visible or ultraviolet photon is emitted. In the
nucleus, energy differences between levels are much larger, typically a
few hundred keV, so the photon emitted is a gamma ray.

 An example of an gamma decay

27 Co 66  28 Ni 60  1 e 0   . The asterisk

mark (*) on the symbol indicates that it is left in the excited state. The
transition form the excited state to the ground state may be
represented by:

28 Ni 60 28 Ni 60  E

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