Decay Constant Calculator

How to Use This Calculator

1. Enter the half-life (t½) of the radioactive substance in seconds in the first input field.
2. Click the "Calculate" button to compute the decay constant.
3. The calculator will display the decay constant in two units:
• Per second (s⁻¹)
• Per year (yr⁻¹)
4. Click "Reset" to clear all input fields and results.

Understanding Decay Constant

The decay constant (λ) is a characteristic of a radioactive isotope that represents the probability of decay per unit time. It's related to the half-life by the formula λ = ln(2) / t½, where t½ is the half-life of the isotope.

Applications

This calculator is useful in nuclear physics, radiometric dating, and understanding radioactive decay processes. The decay constant helps determine how quickly a substance will decay and is essential for applications like carbon dating and nuclear medicine.

Example

If an isotope has a half-life of 5,730 seconds (which is approximately 1.6 years for Carbon-14), the decay constant would be:

λ = ln(2) / 5730 s ≈ 1.2097 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹