Naturally occurring 40K is listed as responsible for 38 mrem/y of background radiation. Calculate the mass of 40K in grams that must be inside the 46 kg body of a woman to produce this dose. Each 40K decay emits a 1.32 MeV β, and 56% of the energy is absorbed inside the body.
Radioactive decay
The emission of energy to produce ionizing radiation is known as radioactive decay. Alpha, beta particles, and gamma rays are examples of ionizing radiation that could be released. Radioactive decay happens in radionuclides, which are imbalanced atoms. This periodic table's elements come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Several of these kinds are stable like nitrogen-14, hydrogen-2, and potassium-40, whereas others are not like uranium-238. In nature, one of the most stable phases of an element is usually the most prevalent. Every element, meanwhile, has an unstable state. Unstable variants are radioactive and release ionizing radiation. Certain elements, including uranium, have no stable forms and are constantly radioactive. Radionuclides are elements that release ionizing radiation.
Artificial Radioactivity
The radioactivity can be simply referred to as particle emission from nuclei due to the nuclear instability. There are different types of radiation such as alpha, beta and gamma radiation. Along with these there are different types of decay as well.
Naturally occurring 40K is listed as responsible for 38 mrem/y of background
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