1.

0 INTRODUCTION
Radioactivity involves the emission of particles and rays from atomic
nucleus. These emissions can serve different purposes such as military, electric
power generation, exploration and research. In this case we are limited to the use
of radioactive emission in research that has to do with the study of the earth
(including the environment). The radioactive method in geophysical prospecting
can be divided into two parts viz: (i) radiation which involves wave (rather than
particles that are corpuscular in nature) emanating from the nuclei of atoms; (ii)
emission of massive particles from the nuclei of atoms. While the former can be
employed for environmental studies, the latter can be used for the exploration of
minerals containing uranium. Both cases require the use of geophysical tools such
as Geiger counter and scintillation counters and therefore must be regarded as
geophysical methods.
Industrial prospecting involves radioactive logging of exploratory drill holes
and airborne surveys with oscillation counters. Emission of rays or particles from
the nucleus of an atom is the backbone of the radiometric method in geophysical
prospecting.

2.0 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF RADIOACTIVITY

Radioactive methods are primarily used in prospecting for radioactive ore

deposits. However as all rocks, crystalline as well as sedimentary, are radioactive,
the radioactive methods can also be used in geologic mapping, provided the
different formations have a distinct radioactive contrast. In oil exploration these
methods have also been used, be it with doubtful results or not. Nevertheless
radioactive logging of oil wells is a standard procedure in petroleum exploration.

2.1 The Atom

A typical atom is made up of the nucleus at the centre, and the electrons
revolving in orbital shells round the nucleus (Figure 1). The typical atom is neutral
because the electrons carry negative charge and are in the same number as the
protons which carry positive charge. The electrons reside in shells in their specific
numbers and revolve round the nucleus. On the other hand, the protons remain
relatively at rest within the nucleus.

-e

n
+P

Figure 1: Atypical Atom made up of the nucleus and electrons which are negatively
charged and revolve round the nucleus; the nucleus consists of neutrons, n, which carry no
charge and are therefore neutral, and positively charged protons, P; the number of
electrons is equal to the number of protons, hence the typical Atom is electrically neutral.

Suppose that the nucleus of an atom contains Z protons and is surrounded by an

equal number of negatively charged electrons, then the atom is electrically neutral,
Z is the atomic number of the element and defines its place in the periodic table.
The number N of neutrons in the nucleus is the neutron number, and the total
number A of protons together with neutrons is the mass number of the atom.
Atoms of the same element with different neutron numbers are called isotopes of
the element.
Exercises – Set One
(i) Explain why the atom of an element is neutral even though some
particles contained therein are charged.
(ii) What is the atomic number, Z, of an element?
(iii) What is the mass number, A, of an element?
(iv) How is the position of an element determined on the periodic table?
(v) By using the Periodic Table of elements explain the difference
between the mother atom and its isotopes.

2.2 Structure of the Nucleus

The nucleus of an atom consists of positively charged protons and neutrons

that carry no charge (that is, the neutrons are electrically neutral), but the two sets
of particles are of the same quantity for the lighter elements, but of different
quantity for the heavier elements in the periodic table. Also the two sets of
particles are bound together by the nuclear force of strong interaction. Neutrons
and protons have nearly the same mass and very similar properties. The word
nucleon is used for both of them; that is, the constituent of a nucleus. Any nucleus
containing more than one nucleon is called nuclide. Nuclides having the same
number of protons but a different number of neutrons are called isotopes. For
example, uranium contains 92 protons but may have 142, 143, or 146 neutrons; the
different isotopes are distinguished by appending the mass number to the chemical
symbol, giving 234U, 235U and 238U.
The number of protons in a nucleus is indicated by the “atomic number” Z.
The number of protons plus the number of neutrons is indicated by the “mass
number” A. the mass number is used as a superscript preceding the atomic symbol,
as shown above for the uranium isotopes. In the case of the “carbon twelve” (C12)
isotope, because the nucleus of12C happens to have an atomic weight of exactly 12,
the scale of atomic weight is based on12C . Hence archaeological dating is based on
C12 isotope.
Like the atom, a nucleus has different energy levels, it has a so-called “shell
structure”. Each energy level or “shell” contains a number of sub shells. Because a
nucleus has two types of particles, the neutrons and the protons, it has a double cell
structure, one for the neutrons and one for the protons. Some specific values of Z
or N, where N (= A – Z) is the number of neutrons, are called the “magic
numbers’; these are 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82 and 126 (Gerkens, 1989; see also Littlefield
and Thorley, 1963). Nuclei having such a magic number of neutrons (or protons)
are strongly bound and particularly stable. Their natural abundance is significantly
higher than that of nuclei not having the magic number of nucleons.

Exercises – Set Two

(i) Write down the “magic numbers”.
(ii) Which nucleon is associated with the magic numbers?
(iii) What are the properties of nuclei characterized with magic numbers?

In some nuclei the configuration of neutron and proton is unstable. Such nuclei are
radioactive. Many isotopes of elements with Z¿81 (or A¿ 206) are naturally
radioactive. Many more are more radioactive by artificial means (nuclear reactors,
particle accelerators). There are three naturally radioactive series: the uranium
series, the actinium series and the thorium series. The uranium series have nuclei
with mass numbers given by 4n + 2, where n is an integer. The actinium and
thorium series have mass numbers of type 4n + 3 and 4n respectively.
2.3 Nuclear Reaction

The electrostatics Coulomb force causes the protons to attract each other, and the
force decreases as the inverse square of the separation between the protons and so
can act over distances that are large compared to the size of the nucleus. Even
more powerful nuclear force holds the nucleus together. This attractive force acts
between protons, between neutrons, and between proton and neutron. It is only
effective at short distances, for a particle separation less than about 1 x 10-15 m.
Repulsion acts between every pair of protons in a nucleus, while the short-
range nuclear force acts only on nearby protons and neutrons. To avoid flying
apart due to Coulomb repulsion all nuclei with atomic number Z greater than about
20 have an excess of neutrons (N > Z). This helps to dilute the effects of the
repulsion-producing protons. However, nuclei with Z ≥ 83 are unstable and
disintegrate by radioactive decay; that is, they break up spontaneously by emitting
elementary particles (such as α and β) having masses, and other radiation (such as,
γ in form of wave or radiation) having no mass.
At least 28 distinct elementary particles are known to nuclear physics
(Lowrie, 1997). The most important ones are identified as α-particle (which
carries positive charge), β-particle (which carries negative charge), and γ-radiation
(which carries no charge, but has the speed of light). The unstable nucleus of
radioactive elements emits certain elementary particles or in some cases captures
an electron, to obtain stability. There are three different kinds of radiation, alpha,
beta and gamma.

2.3.1 Alpha Radiation

Many of the heavy nuclei, with Z ˃ 82 (lead), emit spontaneous α-particles.

This is energetically possible because the binding energy of α-particle is greater
than the binding energy per nucleon in a larger nucleus. An α-particle is a helium
nucleus that has been stripped of its surrounding electrons; it is made up of two
protons and two neutrons and so has atomic number 2 and mass number 4. If we
represent the parent and daughter nuclei by respectively X and Y, the
disintegration process is:
A A− 4 4
z X → Z−2Y + 2 He +binding energy

For example the unstable uranium isotope 238 decays as:

238 234 4
92 Y→ 90 Th+ 2 He +4.2 MeV

Where 4.2 MeV (mega electron volts) is the difference in binding energy, or the
mass difference, between the parent element and its daughter. It is the kinetic
energy of the emitted α-particle. Most α-radiators are the heavy nuclei belonging
to the nuclides at the end of the periodic system. The majority have nuclei with A
˃ 200. One assumes that the lighter nuclei have α-decay times to be observable.
The α-particle is exceptionally stable, having a double magic number (2 protons
plus 2 neutrons). They behave like separate quantities, such as neutrons and
protons.
There are α-radiators which emit several groups of α-particles with distinctly
different range (i.e. energy). The explanation is that, when a nucleus emits an α-
particle with a kinetic energy, Eα , which is less than the maximum, the daughter
nucleus will be excited to a higher energy level. The excess energy, Δ Eα , will be
emitted as γ-radiation when the excited nucleus cascades down to its ground state.
The frequency v of the γ-radiation follows the hv = Δ Eα . It can also occur that the
parent nucleus is in an excited state when it emits α-particles. In that case the α-
particles will have a larger amount than normal range (i.e. energy).
 Because α-particles have an electric charge, they ionize the matter through
which they pass. By the ionization they lose energy until they are slowed down
sufficiently to pick up two electrons and become a neural helium atom. Normally,
the range of α-particles is a few centimeters in the air and only some millimeters to
less than a millimeter in solids. Therefore it is possible to detect α-radiation in
prospecting. The α-radiation is of interest only because of the γ-radiation that goes
along with it.

2.3.2 Beta Radiation

β-particle is an electron. Beta radiation can consist of β ̅ -particles

(electrons) or β⁺ -particles (positrons). In β ̅ -decay a neutron is replaced by a
proton and an electron is emitted. In β⁺ -decay a proton is replaced by a neutron
and a positron is emitted. Natural β⁺ -decay occurs rarely on earth and practically
all natural β-decay with which we are dealing is β ̅ -decay. In some cases the parent
nucleus captures an electron from one of the inner electron shells, for example a K-
electron. K-electrons have orbits reaching the nucleus. The empty place of the K-
electron is taken by an electron of one of the outer orbits, which is accompanied by
Röntgen radiation (K-radiation). This so-called K-capture is equivalent to β⁺ -
decay. Contrary to α-radiation where the kinetic energy of the α- particles varies
quantum wise, the energy distribution of the β-particles is continuous. The question
is: where goes the rest of the kinetic energy of the slower β-particles? The
neutron-proton mass difference is 1.3 Mev and the rest mass of an electron is 0.5
MeV, so there is left 0.8 Mev which goes into the kinetic energy of the electron.
The observed maximum kinetic energy of the electron is never that high, and the
question is where goes the energy difference of 0.8 MeV minus the observed
kinetic energy of the electron. An answer was suggested by W. Pauli. To satisfy
the energy balance he suggested the existence of particles with zero charge and
zero rest mass and a mass which at most could become equal to the electron mass.
The particle was called a “neutrino” by Fermi. Furthermore, to satisfy the law of
conservation of angular momentum, the neutrino should have a spin equal to the
electron spin but of opposite sign. According to Fermi the β ̅ -decay of nucleus
results from n  p + e ̄ + v, where n is a neutron, and p is a proton, e ̄ an electron
and v a neutrino. In the case of β⁺ -decay we have n  p + e⁺ + v̅, where e⁺ is a
positron and v̅ is an “antineutrino”. The energy balance for β⁺ -decay is:

E = me c 2 + ( Ekin ¿e + mv c 2 + ( Ekin ¿ v (15.7)

where me is the electron mass, ( Ekin ¿e the kinetic energy of the electron, mv the
neutrino mass, ( Ekin ¿ v the kinetic energy of the neutrino mass, and c the velocity of
light in vacuum. E is the total energy. The kinetic energy of the emitted neutrino (
Ekin ¿ v changes in such a way with respect to the kinetic energy of the emitted

electron ( Ekin ¿e that the total energy e remains the same. ( Ekin ¿e Has its maximum
when ( Ekin ¿ v = 0.
The second remarkable fact is that before the emission of β-particle, the
nucleus contained no electrons nor neutrinos, but only neutrons and protons. This
is explained by the introduction of the “weak interaction” between protons and
neutrons. The weak interaction is a force resulting from the emission of an
electron, e- and a neutrino, v by the neutron, by which the neutron transforms
virtually into proton, p ̒, and the proton, p, by capturing these particles, transforms
into a neutron, n ̒. This can be represented by:

n + p  (p ̒ + e ̄ + v) + p  p ̒ + (e ̄ + v + p)  p ̒ + n ̒.

This is to and fro motion of e ̄ and v, by which each time neutron and protein
exchange place, characterizes the weak interaction. For the β⁺ -emission we can
write similarly:
 n + p  n (e⁺ + v̅ + n ̒)  (n + e⁺ + v̅) + n ̒  p ̒ + n ̒

where, v̅ is an antineutrino. The electron spin in these processes may either remain
with the charges e ̄ or e⁺ and change place with these charges or stay where they
were. In the first case we speak of a Majorana force, in the second case of
Heisenberg force. By assuming a potential U for the weak interaction, we have

U(r) =U 0 e−r /r 0
(15.8)

We restrict the range to the nucleus with radius, r 0 and potential,U 0.

Also β-radiators exist which emit overlapping groups of β-particles, the
difference with α-radiators being that the energy distribution in each group is
continuous, whereas in α-radiation the energy varies quantumwise. Here also from
time to time a nucleus is excited to a higher energy level and emits y -radiation
when it falls to the ground state. The relation between the logarithm of λ and the
logarithm of the kinetic energy also exists in β-decay, but is less direct than in α-
decay. Just like the emission of α-particles, the emission of β-particles is only of
interest to exploration of the y -radiation that goes along with it. Although the range
of β-radiation is roughly a hundred times larger than the range of α-radiation it is
still difficult to detect the field.

2.3.3 Gamma Radiation

Some reactions emit additional energy in the form of γ-rays, which have a
very short wavelength and are similar in character to x-rays. γ -radiation consists of
high-energy photons, hence it is high-frequency radiation, as is apparent from the
relation ΔE = hv, where ΔE is spacing of the energy levels, h is Planck’s constant
and v is the frequency. For nuclear energy levels ΔE is the order of a MeV, which
is much larger than in atoms. γ -rays attenuate exponentially with distance from the
source. Normally they can be detected at distances up to several hundreds of
meters in air. In rock γ - rays are practically entirely absorbed within 0.5−¿2
meters, deepending on the type of rock, hard or sedimentary. It follows that
radioactive prospecting is limited to the same depth of 0.5−¿2 meters and is chiefly
concerned with the detection of γ -rays over radioactive ore bodies. As γ -rays are
products of the nuclei, they are not affected by the chemical form in which the
radioactive elements occur. Each isotope has its characteristic γ -ray spectrum. The
unit of radioactivity used in prospecting is micro-röntgen (r), which is the amount
of radiation producing 2.083 × 109 pairs of ions per cubic centimeter of air at
standard temperature and pressure (Gerkens, 1989). Also the count per minute is
used as a measure of radiation.
Of the radioactive element occurring in nature, we already mentioned the
uranium, the actinium and the thorium series. Also lighter radioactive isotopes are
found in nature. Of these the potassium isotope 40
K is of special interest in
prospecting. This isotope forms only a small percentage of the total amount of
potassium on earth, but it is widespread and contributes significantly to the
radioactivity of rocks. The respective content of U, Th, and K in rocks varies
strongly for different types of rocks. When rock undergoes weathering, the
radioactive elements contained in it are separated and are transported in different
ways. Thorium is not soluble in water and therefore can only be displaced by
mechanical processes. Uranium on the other hand occurs in easily soluble
compounds and migrates in watery solutions. It will therefore be found in the
remains of what used to be the liquid portion of the magma; an example is
pegmatite, commonly found as veins and dikes, and frequently associated
genetically with graphite. Also uranium can be found in sedimentary rock and
organic deposits. Of the sedimentary rock the clay has, in general, the largest and
the limestone the smallest concentration of radioactive isotopes (Gerkens, 1989) as
shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Concentration of radioactive isotopes in clay and limestone
in sedimentary rock (Adapted After Gerkens, 1989).

Content in Content in
Element Clay Limestone Remark

}
Radium 1.3 x 10 -12
0.5 x 10-12
Uranium 4.3 x 10-6 1.5 x 10-6 average values
in gram
Thorium 13.6 x 10-6 0.5 x 10-6
Potassium 3.0 x 10-2 0.1 x 10-2

Salt stones are not radioactive. Sandstones have a radioactive lying between that
of clay and limestone. Marine sediments are in general stronger radioactive than
terrestrial and estuarine sediments.
Suppose we have found a uranium deposit and we want to know whether its
exploitation is economically worthwhile, it must then have a certain minimum
percentage of U 3 O8 (usually taken to be 0.1%). In many cases only a chemical
analysis of samples can give the answer. If, however, we assume that the ore is in
equilibrium, that is when the creation of radioactive isotopes per second equals
their disintegration per second, and also we may assume that the ore is not
contaminated by other radioactive elements (such as Th or K), then a rough field
determination may be sufficient. With a “counter” the counts per minute of a
standard sample with known U 3 O8 content is compared with the counts of the field
sample.
If the field sample is contaminated by, for example, thorium (Th) or
potassium (K,) or when it is not in equilibrium, the count has to be corrected. To
determine the correction, the ratio of β- to γ -radiaion is measured by means of
counters. The ratio is known for the uranium series and by comparing the
measured with the known ratio the correction can be determined for either the
contamination or in the absence of contamination, for the not being in equilibrium
for the disintegration process.

Exercises – Set Three

(i) Explain why α- β- particles carry opposite charge, while γ-radiation carries
no charge but has approximately the speed of light?
(ii) Distinguish between: (a) β-- and β+-particles; and (b) β-- and β+-decays.
(iii) Discuss the peculiarities associated with β-radiation which leads to the
formation of positron and neutrino; represent each event appropriately by a
decay process.
(iv) Write down the energy balance for β+-decay.

2.4 Radioactive Decay Processes

Different kinds of atoms in an element are called nuclides; they constitute

the atoms of the different isotopes of the element. The nuclei of many nuclides
contain large number of protons, of all these nuclides only a few are stable; the
unstable ones emit protons. The nuclear force present in an unstable nuclide is
insufficient to keep the nucleus intact and so the nucleus eventually breaks apart
leading to disintegration. The disintegration may be spontaneous until the nuclide
becomes stable. An example of an unstable nuclide is uranium-238 which breaks
down spontaneously to form other isotopes (e.g. radium-226, lead-204 – a stable
nuclide), and in the process some particles, radiation and large amount of nuclear -
energy are given out.

In summary, the process of spontaneous disintegration of

unstable nuclides to form stable ones is called radioactive decay.

During the disintegration, α and β particles are the pieces of the nucleus,
which are thrown out, while γ-rays are electromagnetic radiation, which often
accompany the ejection of α- and β-particles. For example, the radioactive element
radium-226 (226Ra) decays to radon-222 (222Rn) by α-particles emission as follows:
 226
88 Ra →
222
86
4
Rn+ 2 He (i)

The radon disintegrates to radium by the emission of β-particles as follows:

Rn→ Ra+2−¿ ¿ ¿ (ii)

2.5 Radioactive Decay Law

When a radioactive element decays, the number of nuclei contained in it

decreases with time. Suppose the number of nuclei at time t is Nt, the
disintegration of the element obeys an exponential decay law which is given by the
equation

N t =N 0 e
−λt
(2.01)

where, N0 is the number of unstable nuclei initially present at time t = 0, and λ is

the decay rate or disintegration constant characteristics for each nuclide, and it is
expressed in sec−1. Then after a time elapse t, there will remain Nt number of
nuclei. Equation (2.01) is represented by Figure 2.

N0 -

N, Activity (count)/s


½No

T½
Time, t 
Figure 2: Exponential decay curve for a radioactive element
 Each radioactive nuclide has its own “half-life” T 1/ 2 , in which the initial
number of parent nuclei is reduced to half this number, ½No; these are shown in
1
Figure 2. We find T 1/ 2 by putting Nt = 2 N 0 and t = T 1/ 2 in equation (2.01), giving:

¿ 2 0.693
T 1/ 2 = = λ (2.02)
λ

and for rate of decay:

dN t
= −λ N 0 e− λt = −λ N t (2.03)
dt

We see that the rate of decay is proportional to the number of nuclei. The absolute
dN
value¿ dt ∨¿ is called the “activity” of the element and is expressed in curie (in

honour of Pierre and Marie Curie). The curie is defined as the activity of
radioactive matter decaying at a rate of 3.700 × 1010 nuclei per second (which is
about the activity of 1 g.Ra). Equations (2.01) and (2.0.3) are statistical laws, valid
only for nuclei with large numbers. Between the disintegration constant λ and the
half-life T ½ on one side and the range of the α-particles on the other side exists a
remarkable relation. Taking the logarithm of both sides of equation (2.02), we
obtain:

- log λ = 0.1593 + log T1/2 (log¿10 log )

For which we write

- log λ = A + B log R (2.04)

where R is the range of the α-particle.

Experiments by H. Geiger showed that in air: R = aV 3, where V is the velocity of
the α-particle and a is a constant. Thus we may rewrite equation (2.04) as

- log λ = A ̒ + B ̒ log V (2.05)

where A’ = B log a, and B’ = 3B

1 2
Replacing V by the kinetic energy Ea = 2 ma V (2.06)

log λ = A“ + B” log Ea

where A’’ = A’ + ½(B’log2 – B’log ma), and B’’ = ½B’.

We see that there exists a linear relationship between log λ and log E. (According
to wave mechanical theory this is an approximation).

Exercises – Set Four

(a) Given that Nt = N 0 e− λt nuclei, show that
¿ 2 0.693
(i) T 1/ 2 = = ;
λ λ
d Nt
(ii) = −λ N t
dt
(Note: all quantities have their usual notations)
(b) Show that the activity of the element is proportional to the number of nuclei present.