All Problems

Radioactivity

Problem 6.231

A radionuclide \(A_{1}\) goes through the transformation chain \(A_{1} \rightarrow A_{2} \rightarrow A_{3}\) (stable) with respective decay constants \(\lambda_{1}\) and \(\lambda_{2} .\) Assuming that at the initial moment the preparation contained only the radionuclide \(A_{1}\) equal in quantity to \(N_{10}\) nuclei, find the equation describing accumulation of the stable isotope \(A_{3}\).

Reveal Answer
N3(t)=N10(1+λ1eλ2tλ2eλ1tλ2λ1)N_{3}(t)=N_{10}\left(1+\frac{\lambda_{1} \mathrm{e}^{-\lambda_{2} t}-\lambda_{2} \mathrm{e}^{-\lambda_{1} t}}{\lambda_{2}-\lambda_{1}}\right)