All Problems

Radioactivity

Problem 6.231

A radionuclide A1A_{1} goes through the transformation chain A1A2A3A_{1} \rightarrow A_{2} \rightarrow A_{3} (stable) with respective decay constants λ1\lambda_{1} and λ2.\lambda_{2} . Assuming that at the initial moment the preparation contained only the radionuclide A1A_{1} equal in quantity to N10N_{10} nuclei, find the equation describing accumulation of the stable isotope A3A_{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)