1. What is Radiation Half-Life?

The half-life of a radioactive substance is the time required for half of the radioactive atoms present to decay. This calculator determines the remaining radiation dose after a given time period based on the substance's half-life.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the radioactive decay formula:

Where:

• \( dose0 \) — Initial radiation dose
• \( t \) — Time elapsed
• \( t_{1/2} \) — Half-life of the radioactive substance

Explanation: The formula shows exponential decay where the remaining dose halves every half-life period.

3. Importance of Half-Life Calculations

Details: Calculating remaining radiation dose is crucial for radiation safety, medical treatments, radiocarbon dating, and nuclear medicine applications.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter initial dose, elapsed time, and half-life in consistent units (all in hours, days, years, etc.). All values must be positive numbers.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What are common half-life examples?
A: Iodine-131 (8 days), Technetium-99m (6 hours), Carbon-14 (5730 years), Uranium-238 (4.5 billion years).

Q2: How accurate is this calculation?
A: The calculation is mathematically precise for ideal radioactive decay, but real-world measurements may have slight variations.

Q3: Can this be used for medication half-life?
A: While the math is similar, biological half-life involves more complex pharmacokinetics and isn't identical to radioactive decay.

Q4: How many half-lives until radiation is gone?
A: After 10 half-lives, about 0.1% remains; after 20 half-lives, about 0.0001% remains.

Q5: Does temperature affect half-life?
A: No, radioactive half-life is constant under all normal conditions and unaffected by temperature, pressure, or chemical state.