Half of the remaining nuclei decay in the next half-life. The time in which half of the original number of nuclei decay is defined as the half-life, t 1/2. Why use a term like half-life rather than lifetime? The answer can be found by examining Figure 1, which shows how the number of radioactive nuclei in a sample decreases with time. In this section we explore half-life and activity, the quantitative terms for lifetime and rate of decay. This means they have shorter lifetimes, producing a greater rate of decay. For example, radium and polonium, discovered by the Curies, decay faster than uranium. However, some nuclides decay faster than others.
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