Numerical simulation of mass in core decay of radioactive substance Thorium-232 series

Abstract

Radioactive elements are elements whose isotopes have unstable nuclei, so they have the possibility to emit radiation through the decay process. Thorium-232 is one of the most stable radioactive elements with isotopes that have abundance in nature 3 times more than Uranium. The purpose of this research is to find the mass of remaining atoms in the Th-232 series which experience very slow decay through the alpha and beta decay process to become a stable core Pb-208. The settlement of radioactive chain decays usually uses very complicated differential concepts. The matrix algebra method is a solution to facilitate the completion of radioactive chain decay which can be implemented computationally through matlab programming. Research that occured on Th-232 with a mass of 7 gram for 1,34 x 10¹⁰ years ago showed that the parent nuclide had the most decay residual mass compared to its derived nuclides, because the half-life of the derived nuclide was shorter than the decay time. The number of decay residual mass owned by the parent nuclide is 3,596 grams. The results of this research indicate that the mass of residual radioactive decay is influenced by the half-life of each nuclide and the length of decay.