Physics › Section V · Nuclear physics and its applications › Topic V.3
Half-life and activity
No one can say when a single radioactive nucleus will decay, yet a large sample shrinks on a perfectly predictable schedule. Half-life and activity turn that randomness into numbers for medicine, safety and dating the past.
In this topic
- Random for one, predictable for many
- Half-life
- The decay constant
- Worked example: a cobalt-60 source
- Activity
- Worked example: the activity of 1.00 mg of caesium-137
- Carbon-14 dating
- Worked example: dating a wooden tool
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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