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For example, the third atom of nihonium-278 synthesised underwent six alpha decays down to mendelevium-254, [2] followed by an electron capture (a form of beta decay) to fermium-254, [2] and then a seventh alpha to californium-250, [2] upon which it would have followed the 4n + 2 chain (radium series) as given in this article.
In nuclear physics, the Bateman equation is a mathematical model describing abundances and activities in a decay chain as a function of time, based on the decay rates and initial abundances. The model was formulated by Ernest Rutherford in 1905 [1] and the analytical solution was provided by Harry Bateman in 1910. [2]
Most natural transmutation on the Earth today is mediated by cosmic rays (such as production of carbon-14) and by the radioactive decay of radioactive primordial nuclides left over from the initial formation of the Solar System (such as potassium-40, uranium and thorium), plus the radioactive decay of products of these nuclides (radium, radon ...
Radon-222 (222 Rn, Rn-222, historically radium emanation or radon) is the most stable isotope of radon, with a half-life of approximately 3.8 days. It is transient in the decay chain of primordial uranium-238 and is the immediate decay product of radium-226.
Radon emanation from the soil varies with soil type and with surface uranium content, so outdoor radon concentrations can be used to track air masses to a limited degree. [114] [a] Because of radon's rapid loss to air and comparatively rapid decay, radon is used in hydrologic research that studies the interaction between groundwater and streams ...
The decay-chain of uranium-238, which contains radium-226 as an intermediate decay product. 226 Ra occurs in the decay chain of uranium-238 (238 U), which is the most common naturally occurring isotope of uranium. It undergoes alpha decay to radon-222, which is also radioactive; the decay chain ultimately terminates at lead-206.
The decay of radon-222 was once reported to exhibit large 4% peak-to-peak seasonal variations (see plot), [50] which were proposed to be related to either solar flare activity or the distance from the Sun, but detailed analysis of the experiment's design flaws, along with comparisons to other, much more stringent and systematically controlled ...
Lead is perhaps the best example of a partly radiogenic substance, as all four of its stable isotopes (204 Pb, 206 Pb, 207 Pb, and 208 Pb) are present primordially, in known and fixed ratios. However, 204 Pb is only present primordially, while the other three isotopes may also occur as radiogenic decay products of uranium and thorium .