One of the properties of an isotope is its half-life, the time by which half of an initial number of identical parent radioisotopes can be expected statistically to have decayed to their daughters, which is inversely related to λ. The decay of each single atom occurs spontaneously, and the decay of an initial population of identical atoms over time t, follows a decaying exponential distribution, e −λt, where λ is called a decay constant. The time it takes for a single parent atom to decay to an atom of its daughter isotope can vary widely, not only between different parent-daughter pairs, but also randomly between identical pairings of parent and daughter isotopes. Note that the parent isotope becomes the daughter isotope, unlike in the case of a biological parent and daughter. The daughter of a daughter isotope is sometimes called a granddaughter isotope. The daughter isotope may be stable or it may decay to form a daughter isotope of its own. One example of this is uranium ( atomic number 92) decaying into thorium (atomic number 90). A parent isotope is one that undergoes decay to form a daughter isotope. Thus there is usually a series of decays until the atom has become a stable isotope, meaning that the nucleus of the atom has reached a stable state.ĭecay stages are referred to by their relationship to previous or subsequent stages. The typical radioisotope does not decay directly to a stable state, but rather it decays to another radioisotope. It is also known as a "radioactive cascade". In nuclear science, the decay chain refers to a series of radioactive decays of different radioactive decay products as a sequential series of transformations.
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