This can be solved using calculus to provide the following: Where λ is the nuclear decay constant that depends on the particular isotope and the type of particle that is being emitted.įor infinitesimally small times this equation may be written as: The change in the number of un-decayed nuclei, ΔN, is proportional to the number of un-decayed nuclei, N, and the time over which the change takes place, Δt: The activity of radioactive material depends upon the amount of material present and decreases with time as the nuclei decay to another state. The activity of a radioactive substance is the number of nuclei that decay (through the emission of particles) per unit time.
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