Q: A radioactive nuclide can decay either via alpha emission or beta emission, the partial half – lives for the two decay modes being T1 and T2 respectively. In a given set – up, the detector cannot distinguish between alpha and beta particles. The observed half – life time T is related to T1 and T1 by the formula.
(a) T = T1 + T2
(b) T = (T1 + T2)/2
(c) $ \displaystyle T = \frac{T_1 \times T_2}{T_1 + T_2} $
(d) T = T1 × T2
Click to See Answer :
Ans: (c)
Sol: As decacy constants are additive , i.e.,
λ = λ 1 + λ 2
$ \displaystyle \frac{1}{T} = \frac{1}{T_1} + \frac{1}{T_2} $
$ \displaystyle T = \frac{T_1 \times T_2}{T_1 + T_2} $