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I. INTRODUCTION
Nuclear decay is the process of the nucleus of
an atom breaking down into a different kind of
atom (by emission of various types of particles)
and it occurs because the nucleus is unstable.
This occurs naturally but can also be brought
about by adding things to a previously stable
nucleus. Atoms with identical proton counts but
varying neutron counts in their nuclei are called
isotopes of that element. The nuclear decay of
one atom usually produces nuclear radiation that
will readily interact with surrounding atoms, so
there are often various chains of decay incidences
associated with specific samples, especially those
with a mix of different elements.
Ag
109
47
Ag
isotopes,
and
, with respective
abundances of 52% and 48%1 any given sample
of the metal. Bombardment with neutrons begins
nuclear decay processes for each nuclide, both of
which are similar and involve gamma- and betaemissions. The equations are as follows.
11Equation Section 122Equation Section 2323\*
MERGEFORMAT
(.)
n 107
Ag 108
Ag 108
Cd e1.65MeV
e
47
47
48
424\*
MERGEFORMAT
(.)
n 109
Ag 110
Ag 110
Cd e2.89MeV
e
47
47
48
t1/ 2 ln2
equation 525\* MERGEFORMAT (.)
.
This experiment measured these lifetimes and
also the relationship between the neutronirradiation
period
and
the
subsequent
radioactivity of the sample; i.e. how many betaemissions per minute could be expected
according to neutron exposure time.
III. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Dead Time Calculation for GM Counter
The GM counter used here misses a certain
fraction of the total number of -particles that
enter its chamber due to dead time. The
relationship between actual counts, expected
counts, detection time and dead time is as
follows.
621Equation Chapter (Next) Section 273Equation
Section 3838\* MERGEFORMAT (.)
X`
X
T T XW
Where X` is expected counts, X is measured
counts, T is detection time and W is dead time.
The dead time of the GM counter can be
calculated according to the count rates of various
combinations of a set of twin carbon-14 samples
A
W T (1 1 C)
B
A XL XR XB XN
B XL XR(XN XB ) XB XN (XL XR )
C
B
(X XR XB XN )
A2 L
100 s
0s
XL
20519
143.24
XR
32476
180.21
XB
51069
225.98
XN
92
9.59
0.144ms
.042ms
) k2(1 e
d/ i
(1 e
C(t) k1(1 e
ki i i ni i e
t/ 2
c/ i
Where:
C = number of counts
t = exposure time
= mean life of active Ag
MERGEFORMAT (.)
107
t 204 4s Ag47
= neutron flux
= efficiency of GM counter
= neutron cross-section (for nucleus
capture)
n = number of target nuclei
d = transfer time (calculated from fall
height and gravity)
c = counting time
1 Abundance of Ag isotopes
http://periodictable.com/Elements/047/data.html
last accessed 9/12/2015 02:48:00
2
PRA Software is a counting and analysis software used for nuclear radiation experiments. The
programme
was
written
by
Marek
Dolleiser
and
is
found
online
at
http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~marek/pra/