Geiger-Nuttall law
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In nuclear physics, the Geiger-Nuttall law or Geiger-Nuttall rule relates the decay constant of a radioactive isotope with the energy of the alpha particles emitted. Roughly speaking, it states that short lived isotopes emit more energetic alpha particles than long lived ones.
Formulated in 1911 by Hans Geiger and John Mitchell Nuttall, in its modern form the Geiger-Nuttall law is
where λ is the decay constant, Z the atomic number, E the total kinetic energy (of the alpha particle and the daughter nucleus), and a1 and a2 are constants.
[edit] References
- Eric W. Weisstein, Geiger-Nuttall Law at ScienceWorld.
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