Specialty Chemistry Forums > Nuclear Chemistry and Radiochemistry Forum

Trend of half life in actinides

<< < (2/3) > >>

pcm81:
Half life is determined by the decay constant lambda via HL=ln(2)/lambda.

Lambda in turn is determined via quantum mechanics. You can think of a nucleus as a potential well that the particle is trying to escape (this is easier to imagine for alpha particles). This particle is bouncing off the walls of the potential well since the well is deeper than the energy of the particle. Eventually it will escape via quantum tunnelling. Large nucleus means particle takes longer to bounce back and fourth between the walls of this potential well, hence in a given period of time, say 1 second, it has fewer chances to escape.

wildfyr:
pcm, this is a 3+ year old topic.

Enthalpy:

--- Quote from: pcm81 on June 28, 2018, 10:33:38 AM ---[...] Large nucleus means particle takes longer to bounce back and fourth between the walls of this potential well, hence in a given period of time, say 1 second, it has fewer chances to escape.
--- End quote ---

Ouch. Alpha emission appears as nuclei get larger. And these are all stationary states, without movement in the nucleus.

pcm81:

--- Quote from: Enthalpy on June 29, 2018, 06:12:58 AM ---
--- Quote from: pcm81 on June 28, 2018, 10:33:38 AM ---[...] Large nucleus means particle takes longer to bounce back and fourth between the walls of this potential well, hence in a given period of time, say 1 second, it has fewer chances to escape.
--- End quote ---

Ouch. Alpha emission appears as nuclei get larger. And these are all stationary states, without movement in the nucleus.

--- End quote ---

For more information it is easier to just direct the readers to a pdf...
https://www.colorado.edu/physics/phys2170/phys2170_sp07/downloads/alphadecay.pdf
equations 9-29 onward.

Enthalpy:
This pdf is b*llocks.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page