Lecture 12 Radioactive Isotopes 华盛顿大学-海洋化学课件.pptVIP

* Lecture 12 Radioactive Isotopes Decay Equations Half Lives Useful Radiotracers in Oceanography Secular Equilibrium E H Chpt 5 Radioisotopes and decay Definitions and Units Parent – Original Radioactive Atom Daughter – The Product of Decay Decay Chain – A Series of Decays Types of Decay DP DN DAtomic Wt. Alpha a He2+ -2 -2 -4 Beta b e- + 1 -1 0 (n → P+ + e-) Gamma g “excess energy” Decay is independent of chemistry and T and P. Decay is only a property of the nucleus (see Chart of Nuclides) The chart of the nuclides - decay X b decay X a decay Mathematical Formulation of Decay Decay Activity (A) = decays per time (dpm or dps) A = l N l = decay constant (t-1) N = # of atoms or concentration (atoms l-1) Units: Becquerel (Bq) = 1 dps Curie = 3.7 x 1010 Bq = Activity of 1 gram of 226Ra Decay Equations Decay is proportional to the # of atoms present (first order) = AN where N = the number of atoms of the radioactive substance present at time t ? = the first order decay constant (time-1) The number of parent atoms at any time t can be calculated as follows. The decay equation can be rearranged and integrated over a time interval. where No is the number of parent atoms present at time zero. Integration leads to or or Decay Curve Both N and A decrease exponentially Half Life The half life is defined as the time required for half of the atoms initially present to decay. After one half life: Thus = ? t1/2 ln (2) = ? t1/2 0.693 = ? t1/2 so Math note: -ln(1/2) = - (ln 1 – ln 2) = - ( 0 – ln 2) = + ln2 = 0.693 Mean Life = Average Life of an Atom t = 1 / l t = 1.44 t1/2 Q. Why is the mean life longer than the half life? Isotopes used in Oceanography steady state transient U-Th series are shown on the next page. These tracers have a range of chemistries and half lives. Very useful for applications in oceanography. 238U decay