Question

A sample of a radioactive element is found to be losing mass gradually. EXPLAIN WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE SAMPLE.




* Note: the answer should be convincing and should be composed of at LEAST 9 sentences

Answer 1

that is a lot of sentences

Answer 2

fine you may reduce it (the number of sentences)

Answer 3

i just need the explanation.. thanks in advance to whoever gets the answer

Answer 4

means the nucleus is undergoing disintegration into smaller particles you can take one example and explain what happens if alpha particles are liberated, and also when beta and gamma particles are emitted :) and how the mass will disintegrate even by disintegration of the daughter nucleus :)
the above explanation is not answer but how to search or right the answer i have told don't get confused OK :)

Answer 5

ok let's break down the "confusing" problem:

what does it mean or what is the process when a radioactive element is losing mass gradually?

Answer 6

mean the loss in mass is getting converted into radiation of certain energy and the bulky nucleus is changing to the tiny nucleus :)

Answer 7

could you further explain your previous answer? it wasnt understandable for me (:
@chmvijay

Answer 8

no need to make 9 lines
i just need to be able to understand it
@chmvijay

Answer 9

you know basic nuclear chemistry :)

Answer 10

i dont comprehend your explanation
please expound
@chmvijay

Answer 11

not really
i just a small portion of it

Answer 12

there is no fancy thing going in the radioactive substances.

firstly, see that elements like sodium, iodine etc. are not radioactive. Radioactivity is a property, shown by heavy elements like uranium, francium etc.

so, what's happening here, is a heavy nucleus breaks down into smaller ones. OK?

and you might be knowing that these radioactive substances are a source of energy. i may say they are associated with enormous energy.

but we know, that energy can not be created from NOTHING. there has to be some source from which this energy should come. remember the much talked about relation of einstein... E= mc^2. this relation builds up a relation between mass and energy.
that means mass can become anergy and vice versa.
so, the energy produced in radioactive decay, uses up some of the mass.. i.e. you may say some mass gets used up and that's how the energy is released.

i hope now you understand where the mass goes?

it goes nowhere.. just turns into energy.

i hope this helps! :)

Answer 13

@Anish95 wrote "firstly, see that elements like sodium, iodine etc. are not radioactive. Radioactivity is a property, shown by heavy elements like uranium, francium etc."

It is not true that radioactivity is a property only of heavy elements. Even hydrogen has radioactive isotopes! Radioactive Iodine-131 is used for treating thyroid cancer and is one of the prominent fission products produced in commercial power reactors. Radioactive sodium was used as an early biological tracer, and one isotope forms in the blood upon neutron bombardment, allowing post facto measurement of the neutron dose so that appropriate treatment can be chosen for those unfortunate enough to be exposed.

Answer 14

False

Answer 15

@ANISH95

COuld you relate your explanation to a specific example...

Answer 16

just for example, what happens when an element (that is radioactive, like uranium) gradually looses mass?

could you please help give details that can be useful and understanding

thanks anyways for ya'all

Answer 17

could this be related to the half-life of a radioactive decay?

Answer 18

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_nuclear_decay_equation_for_radon-222

see the equation from this site.


In this example we see the radioactive decay of radon-222.

We see that here, Radon looses mass and turns into polonium-218 and associated with this process is emission of alpha particle.

In other cases, beta particles, gama particles will be emitted. These particles symbolize energy release. i.e. they are energy.

Remember the electromagnetic spectrum? There you see gama rays too!!

i hope you understand this example

Answer 19

@whpalmer4 yes you are right in saying that isotopes of many light elements are associated with radioactivity too.

Answer 20

any doubt?

Answer 21

It's according to einstein's energy mass equation E=mc^2

Answer 22

i dont know the electromagnetic spectrum
@ANISH95

Answer 23

Please clarify and give a conclusion or a summary of all your explanations...

Thanks!

@ANISH95
@whpalmer4
@chmvijay
@phi

Answer 24

nuclei of the radioisotiope is falling apart as they are unstable

some of the binding energy of the nucleus is being liberated

Answer 25

@UnkleRhaukus

why's it falling apart?
how's it related to the loss of mass of the radioactive element?

Answer 26

use the mass energy equation (its up the page somewhere)

Answer 27

simply an example of mass being converted to energy.