atoms and radioactivity

Radioactivity - The discovery of the electron towards the end of the nineteenth century was the starting point of new avenues of research in science, which were to give physicists an insight into the structure and nature of the atoms of matter. In 1896, Henri Becquerel discovere..

The phenomenon of spontaneous disintegration of an unstable nucleus of naturally occurring isotope accompanied by emission of active radiations line a , b and g radiations is known as Natural Radioactivity. These radiations come from the breakup of the central core or nuclei of heav..

It is a spontaneous emission or disintegration of an unstable nucleus resulting in certain radiations. The elements exhibiting this phenomena are called radioactive elements. e.g., radium, thorium, actinium, polonium etc. Radioactivity does not occur due to any external provocat..

Discovery of Radioactivity - The discovery of the phenomenon of radioactivity was purely accidental. In 1896, Henry Becquerel, a French scientist accidentally found that in presence of salt of uranium, photographic plates got heavily fogged even though they were wrapped in opaqu..

The number of atoms disintegrated per second at any instant is directly proportional to the number of radioactive atoms actually present in the sample at that instan..

The spontaneous breaking up of the nucleus is known as radioactive disintegration or radioactive decay. Radioactive disintegration is found to obey the following two laws: i) Atoms of all radioactive elements are undergoing spontaneous disintegratio..

The number of atoms disintegrated per second at any instant is directly proportional to the number of radioactive atoms actually present in the sample at that instant. If N o be the total number of atoms at t = 0, N be the total number of atoms left..

It is a nuclear phenomenon. It is due to the instability of the nucleus. It is a spontaneous, continuous and irreversible process. It is independent of external factors such as pressure, temperature, state of substance, electrical field, magnetic field, catalyst etc. A radioactiv..

A radioactive nucleus or element emits an alpha or a beta particle and gets converted into a new nucleus or element. The process of destruction of the original nucleus during the formation of new nucleus due to radioactivity is called Radioactive decay or disintegrat..

In 1896, the phenomenon of radioactivity was accidentally discovered by French scientist Henri Becquerel. He was performing experiments with uranium compounds. He accidentally placed a crystal of potassium uranyl sulphate over photographic plate wrapped with usual black paper. On develo..