The Science Experts » halflife http://TheScienceExperts.com Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:10:41 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 What is radioactive half-life? http://TheScienceExperts.com/answers/what-is-radioactive-half-life/ http://TheScienceExperts.com/answers/what-is-radioactive-half-life/#comments Sun, 22 Aug 2010 02:13:25 +0000 Dan http://TheScienceExperts.com/archives/what-is-radioactive-half-life The half-life of a substance is the time it takes for the number of radioactive nuclei to decrease to one half of the original number. The halflife of a given isotope is always the same, meaning it doesn’t matter how many you have at any given time.

For example, if you have 10 grams of Isotope X, with a half-life of one minute, after one minute that 10 grams will become 5 grams. Then 2.5 grams after another minute. Another minute and it’s 1.25 grams. The half life of the isotope is always one minute.

Source: the University of Colorado Physics Department with their great applet showing the decay of beryllium-11 to boron-11.

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