What is the decay reaction of thorium 232?
What is the decay reaction of thorium 232?
) is the main naturally occurring isotope of thorium, with a relative abundance of 99.98%. It has a half life of 14 billion years, which makes it the longest-lived isotope of thorium. It decays by alpha decay to radium-228; its decay chain terminates at stable lead-208.
What is the decay mode of strontium-90?
beta radiation
Sr-90 decays to yttrium 90 (Y-90), which in turn decays by beta radiation so that wherever Sr-90 is present Y-90 is also present. Because of the beta radiation, Y-90 poses a risk of burns to the eyes and on the skin from external exposure.
What is the stable daughter product of thorium 232?
The stable end products of these naturally occurring radioactive decay series are 206Pb (for 238U), 207Pb (for 235U), and 208Pb (for 232Th).
What is the product of decay for decay of thorium-234?
A nucleus of uranium 238 decays by alpha emission to form a daughter nucleus, thorium 234. This thorium in turn transforms into protactinium 234, and then undergoes beta-negative decay to produce uranium 234.
What is thorium decay series?
The thorium series is one of three classical radioactive series beginning with naturally occurring thorium-232. This radioactive decay chain consists of unstable heavy atomic nuclei that decay through a sequence of alpha and beta decays until a stable nucleus is achieved.
What is the half-life of thorium-232?
about 14 billion years
The time required for a radioactive substance to lose 50 percent of its radioactivity by decay is known as the half-life. The half-life of thorium- 232 is very long at about 14 billion years.
What is the half-life of thorium?
What is the daughter nucleus of the Sr-90 decay?
A quick look in the periodic table will show that strontium has an atomic number of 38 . Another quick look in the periodic table will reveal that the daughter nuclide is yttrium-90, 90Y .
How thorium-232 is formed?
Uranium-238 and thorium-232 (and some other fissionable materials) cannot maintain a self-sustaining fission explosion, but these isotopes can be made to fission by an externally maintained supply of fast neutrons from fission or fusion reactions.
What is the half-life of thorium 231?
25.52
List of isotopes
| Nuclide | Z | Half-life |
|---|---|---|
| Excitation energy | ||
| 231Th | 90 | 25.52(1) h |
| 232Th | 90 | 1.405(6)×1010 y |
| 233Th | 90 | 21.83(4) min |
How is thorium-232 used?
Thorium-232 is, however, fertile. Being fertile means that thorium is capable of being converted into a fissile material, i.e. into a material that is capable of sustaining a nuclear chain reaction. To undertake this process and to produce a useable fuel source, it is necessary to devise a source of neutrons.
