radioactive decay Flashcards
1
Q
radioactive decay
A
when an isotope spontaneously loses energy by emitting ionising particles and radiation
radioactive decay is spontaneous
radioactive decay is random
2
Q
half-life
A
the time it takes for the number of nuclei of the radioctive isotope in a sample to halve
half-life is constant
half-life is used as it is impossible to determine when all of the unstable nuclei will decay
