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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.
Radon-222 is generated in the uranium series from the alpha decay of radium-226, which has a half-life of 1600 years. Radon-222 itself alpha decays to polonium-218 with a half-life of approximately 3.82 days, making it the most stable isotope of radon. [1] Its final decay product is stable lead-206.
Computing the total disintegration energy given by the equation = (), where m i is the initial mass of the nucleus, m f is the mass of the nucleus after particle emission, and m p is the mass of the emitted (alpha-)particle, one finds that in certain cases it is positive and so alpha particle emission is possible, whereas other decay modes ...
Radon is produced commercially by a solution of radium-226 (half-life of 1,600 years). Radium-226 decays by alpha-particle emission, producing radon that collects over samples of radium-226 at a rate of about 1 mm 3 /day per gram of radium; equilibrium is quickly achieved and radon is produced in a steady flow, with an activity equal to that of ...
Any decay daughters that are the result of an alpha decay will also result in helium atoms being created. Some radionuclides may have several different paths of decay. For example, 35.94(6) % [27] of bismuth-212 decays, through alpha-emission, to thallium-208 while 64.06(6) % [27] of bismuth-212 decays, through beta-emission, to polonium-212.
226 Ra is the most stable isotope of radium and is the last isotope in the (4 n + 2) decay chain of uranium-238 with a half-life of over a millennium; it makes up almost all of natural radium. Its immediate decay product is the dense radioactive noble gas radon (specifically the isotope 222 Rn), which is responsible for much of the danger of ...
This radiation is a small portion of the total emitted during radium 226 decay. Radium 228 emits beta particles, and is also a concern for human health through inhalation and ingestion. The gamma rays emitted from radium 226, accounting for 4% of the radiation, are harmful to humans with sufficient exposure.
The decay scheme of a radioactive substance is a graphical presentation of all the transitions occurring in a decay, and of their relationships. Examples are shown below. It is useful to think of the decay scheme as placed in a coordinate system, where the vertical axis is energy, increasing from bottom to top, and the horizontal axis is the proton number, increasing from left to right.