Topic 2: Radioactivity

2.1 Introduction
In nature, the nuclei of most atoms are stable. However, certain atoms have unstable nuclei due
to an excess of either protons or neutrons or an excess of both. They are described as radioactive
and are known as radioisotopes or radionuclides. The nuclei of radioactive atoms change
spontaneously into other atomic nuclei, which may or may not be radioactive.

For instance, U-238 changes into a succession of different radioactive nuclei until it reaches a
stable form, Pb-206. This irreversible transformation of a radioactive atom into a different type
of atom is known as disintegration. It is accompanied by the emission of different types of
radiation.

Definition: Thus, radioactivity is defined as the spontaneous decay or disintegration of heavy

unstable nuclei into smaller and stable daughter nuclei. During radioactive decay, an unstable
nucleus spontaneously loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and/or photon radiations.
This results in an atom of one type, called the parent nuclide, transforming into an atom of a
different type, named the daughter nuclide. Nuclides that undergo radioactive decay are called
radionuclides or radioisotopes.

2.2 Types of radioisotopes

Radionuclides can either occur naturally in the soil, rocks, cosmic rays, food, and plants or be
artificially made in laboratories.

2.2.1 Natural radioisotopes

Natural radioactivity comes from radio elements produced in the stars billions of years ago.
When the Earth was formed, approximately 5 billion years ago, matter consisted of stable and
unstable atoms. Since then, the majority of unstable atoms have disintegrated by radioactivity,
and most have ended up achieving stability. However, there are still some naturally radioactive
atoms:

➢ radioisotopes characterized by a very long half-life, such as U-238 (4.5billion years)

and K-40 (1.3billion years). These have not had enough time to disintegrate completely
since they were created;

➢ the radioactive descendants of the above, such as radium-226, which is constantly being
regenerated after the disintegration of uranium-238. Radium-226 transforms slowly
into a gas, radon-222, which is itself radioactive;

➢ the radioisotopes created by the action of cosmic radiation on certain atomic nuclei.
This is the case with C-14, for example, which is constantly being formed in the
atmosphere.

These natural radioisotopes are present throughout the planet, in the atmosphere (carbon-14,
radon-222), in the Earth’s crust (uranium-238 and uranium-235, radium-226, etc.) and in our
food (potassium-40). That is why everything around us is radioactive. Since the dawn of time,
the Earth and living beings have therefore been bathed in radioactivity. It was only recently
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(slightly more than 100 years ago), through the work of Henri Becquerel, that humans
discovered they had always been living in this environment.

2.2.2 Artificial radioisotopes

Artificial radioisotopes are produced using a cyclotron or nuclear reactor, for many different
applications. Some radioisotopes (cobalt-60, iridium-192, etc.) can be used as sources of
radiation for gamma radiography or sources of irradiation for radiotherapy or industrial
applications. The use of these sources is widespread in medicine and industry. Other artificial
radioisotopes are created in nuclear reactors (strontium-90, cesium-137, etc.). They constitute
what is known as nuclear waste. Being highly radioactive, these radioisotopes have to be stored
under high surveillance and kept isolated from humans.

In radioactive decay, several quantities are always conserved or unchanged by the nuclear
transmutation. The most important of these conservation laws include:

➢ Conservation of charge, i.e., the number of elementary positive and negative charges in
the reactants must be the same as in the products.
➢ Conservation of the number of nucleons, i.e., A is always constant
➢ Conservation of mass/energy (total energy). Although neither rest mass nor kinetic
energy is generally conserved, the total (rest-mass energy equivalent plus kinetic
energy) is conserved.
➢ Conservation of linear momentum. This quantity must be conserved in all inertial
frames of reference.
➢ Conservation of angular momentum. The total angular momentum (or the spin) of the
reacting particles must always be conserved.

2.3 Decay law

If we call the number of radioactive nuclei N, the number of decaying atoms per unit time
(decay rate) is dN/dt. It is found that this rate is constant in time and it is proportional to the
number of nuclei themselves;

The negative sign is needed because N decreases as the time t increases. λ is a constant
characteristic of that particular nuclide, and it’s called the decay constant.
We can also rewrite the above equation as;

where the RHS is the probability per unit of time for one atom to decay.

2.3.1 Activity
The rate of decay or transformation of a radionuclide is described by its activity (A), that is, by
the number of atoms that decay per unit time. The unit of activity is the Becquerel (Bq), defined
as one disintegration per second: 1 Bq = 1 disintegration per second. The traditional unit of
activity is the curie (Ci). The curie was defined as the activity of 1 gram of radium, a natural

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element found in the earth with uranium. This unit is much larger than the Bq because, in 1
gram of radium, 37 billion disintegrations per second are produced. So, a curie is equal to 37
billion becquerels (i.e., 1 Ci = 3.7×1010 Bq).

The decay rate or activity, A, is given by;

dN
A=− = N
dt
Separating variables in the above equation,
dN
= −dt
N
Integration of both sides gives,
In N = −t + c

where c is an arbitrary constant of integration, fixed by the initial conditions. If we specify that
N0 atoms of the radionuclide are present at time t = 0, then c = lnN0.

 In N = −t + In N 0
 N  N
 In   = −t or = e − t
 N0  N 0

The equation above describes the exponential radioactive decay law. Since the activity of a
sample and the number of atoms present are proportional, activity follows the same rate of
decrease;
A
= e − t
A0
where A0 is the activity at time t = 0. The dose rate at a given location in the neighborhood of
a fixed radionuclide source also falls off at the same exponential rate.

2.3.2 Half-life
The half-life is the time it takes for half the nuclei in a given sample to decay. It is related to
the decay constant:
In 2 0.693
T = =
 
Proof
During successive times T, called the half-life of the radionuclide the activity drops by factors
A
of one-half as shown below. To find T in terms of λ, we write from the equation = e − λt at
A0
time t = T,
1
= e − λT
2

Taking the natural logarithm of both sides gives,

1
− T = In = −In 2
2

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and therefore;
In 2 0.693
T = =
 

2.4 Decay types

The three principal modes of decay are called alpha, beta, and gamma decay. Radioactive
decays are a way for unstable nuclei to reach a more energetically favorable (hence stable)
configuration. In α and β decays, a nucleus emits an α or β particle, trying to approach the most
stable nuclide, while in the γ decay an excited state decays toward the ground state without
changing nuclear species.

2.4.1 Alpha decay

A
In alpha decay, the nucleus of a proton-rich heavy parent atom Z P emits an alpha particle as
a possible mode of decay to a more stable state. This occurs when the strong nuclear force
cannot hold a large proton-rich nucleus together. The resulting nucleus of the daughter atom
A− 4
Z − 2 D then has two fewer neutrons and two fewer protons. The fast-moving double negatively-

charged alpha particle quickly loses its kinetic energy by ionizing and exciting atoms along its
path of travel and acquires two orbital electrons to become a neutral 42 He atom. Since the
atomic number of the daughter is different from that of the parent, the daughter is a different
chemical element. The alpha decay reaction is thus represented by;

For example, uranium-238 is alpha-radioactive and transforms into thorium-234.

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2.4.2 Beta minus decay
Beta minus radiation consists of negatively charged electrons. Certain atoms with nuclei that
have several neutrons emit beta minus radiation. One of the neutrons within the nucleus
disintegrates into a proton plus an electron. The electron is ejected, so the atom is transformed
into a different chemical element.

Thus, A is constant, but Z and N change by 1. In the process, the nucleus emits an electron and
quasi-massless particle, called the neutrino. The electron in beta decay is not orbital; it is
created in the decay. The fundamental process is a neutron decaying to a proton, electron, and
neutrino:

For example, thorium-234 is beta minus radioactive and changes into protactinium-234.

2.4.3 Beta plus decay

Beta plus radiation consists of positrons (particles with the same mass as electrons but
positively charged). Some atoms with nuclei too heavily loaded with protons emit beta-plus
radiation. One of the protons within the nucleus disintegrates into a neutron plus a positron.
The positron is ejected, so the atom is transformed into a different chemical element. For
example, iodine-122 is beta-plus radioactive and transforms into tellurium-122. Note that for
both types of beta disintegration, the nucleus keeps the same number of nucleons (and therefore
the same mass number).

Calculating the number of α-particles and β-particles emitted

Consider the reaction given by

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Where x is the number of α -particles emitted and y is the number of β -particles emitted. The
number of α -particles and β -particles emitted during the decay can be obtained as follows:

Example 1:
Calculate the number of α -particles and β -particles emitted by the decay equation given by

Solution:

2.4.4 Gamma decay

Gamma radiation is an electromagnetic wave, just like visible light or x-rays but with more
energy. This type of radiation often follows alpha or beta disintegration. After the emission of
the alpha or beta particle, the nucleus is still excited because its protons and neutrons are not
yet in equilibrium. The excess energy is then rapidly released through the emission of gamma
radiation. This is gamma radioactivity. The gamma-decay reaction of an excited isotope of
element P can be written as;

For example, cobalt-60 transforms by beta disintegration into nickel-60, which reaches a stable
state by emitting gamma radiation.

Summary of important types of radioactive decay

Decay type Reaction Description

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 An excited nucleus decays to its ground
state by the emission of a gamma photon.
An α particle is emitted leaving the
daughter with 2 fewer neutrons and 2 fewer
protons than the parent.

NB: There are various types of detectors for detecting and measuring the different radiations
emitted by radioactive isotopes, including gas-filled counter tubes (proportional counter,
Geiger-Müller counter, ionization chamber), scintillators coupled with photomultipliers, and
semiconductors (silicon, germanium, etc.). These detectors are extremely sensitive and
commonly measure radioactivity at levels a million times lower than those that could affect our
health.
2.5 Uses of radioisotopes
(a) In Medicine:
(i) For testing blood - chromium-51
(ii) For testing blood circulation-Sodium-24
(iii) For detecting brain tumor-Radio mercury-203
(iv) For detecting faults in the thyroid gland - iodine-131
(v) For cancer treatment - Cobalt-60
(vi) For blood-Gold-189
(vii) For skin diseases-Phosphorous-31
(b) In Archaeology:
(i) For determining the age of the archaeological sample (Carbon dating) - 14C
(ii) For determining the age of meteorites - 40K
(iii) For determining the age of earth-land isotopes
(c) In Agriculture:
(i) For protecting potato crops from earthworms – Cobalt-60
(ii) For artificial rains AgI
(iii) As fertilizers-Phosphorous-32
(d) As tracers: A very small quantity of radioisotopes present in a mixture is known as a
tracer. The tracer technique is used for studying biochemical reactions in trees and
animals.
(e) In industries:
(i) For detecting leakage in oil or water pipelines.
(ii) For testing machine parts
(f) In research:
(i) In the study of the carbon-nitrogen cycle.
(ii) For determining the age of planets

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 SELF CHECK QUESTIONS.
a) Define the following terms as used in Nuclear Physics
(i) Radioisotope
(ii) Parent nuclide
b) Differentiate between natural and artificial radioisotopes, giving two examples of
each.
c) Write the nuclear reaction for the alpha decay of uranium-238.
d) The half-life of a radioactive isotope is 5 hours. If a sample initially has an activity of
800 Bq, what will be its activity after 15 hours?
e) Explain how radiation is used in industry to detect leaks in pipelines
f) Describe two conservation laws that apply to all nuclear reactions.
g) State any two medical uses of radioisotopes.
h) Define the following terms as used in Nuclear Physics
(i) Half-life
(ii) Binding energy
i) Given the decay equation, N = N₀e(-λt). Derive the expression for half-life t₁/₂ in
terms of the decay constant λ.