decay time
Quick Summary
In physics, decay time refers to the interval required for a radioactive sample to reduce by half. This is known as the half-life. For instance, cobalt-60, used in radiotherapy, has a half-life of 5.26 years. After this period, a sample of cobalt-60 will halve in quantity, emitting half the radiation it did initially. This decay rate is a characteristic property of unstable atomic nuclei and the specific way they transform by emitting particles and energy. Half-lives vary greatly, from over 10^24 years to less than 10^-23 seconds. The rate of decay is governed by the decay constant, which is inversely related to the half-life.1234
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