Decay Chains

When an unstable nucleus decays, the resulting daughter nucleus is not necessarily stable. The nucleus resulting from the decay of a parent is often itself unstable, and will undergo an additional decay. This is especially common among the larger nuclides.

It is possible to trace the steps of an unstable atom as it goes through multiple decays trying to achieve stability. The list of the original unstable nuclide, the nuclides that are involved as intermediate steps in the decay, and the final stable nuclide is known as the decay chain. One common method for stating the decay chain is to state each of the nuclides involved in the standard ZX format. Arrows are used between nuclides to indicate where decays occur, with the type of decay indicated above the arrow and the half-life below the arrow. The half-life for decay will be discussed in the next chapter.

Example:

Write the decay chains for rubidium-91 and actinium-215. Continue the chains until a stable nuclide or a nuclide with a half-life greater than 1 x 10⁶ years is reached.

Solution: