The radioactive isotope 233Pa (trn: 27.0 d) can be produced following neutron capture by 232Th. The resulting
Question:
The radioactive isotope 233Pa (trn: 27.0 d) can be produced following neutron capture by 232Th. The resulting z1116 decays to 233Pa with a half-life of 22.3 min. Neutron capture in 1 g of "'Th, in the neutron flux from a typical reaetor, produces 2311t at a rate of.2.0 x 1011 s-1.
(a) At the end of t h of irradiation, what are the resulting activities of 233Th and 233Pa?
(b) After t h of irradiation, the sample is placed in storage so that the 233Th activity can decay away. What are the 23116 and 233Pa activities after 24h and after 48 h of storage?
(c) The 233pu decay results in 233U, which is itself radioactive (ttn: 1.6 x 10t y). After the above sample has been stored for 1 year, what is the 233U activity? (Hint: It should not be necessary to set up an additional differential equation to find the 233U activity.)
Differential Equations and Linear Algebra
ISBN: 978-0131860612
2nd edition
Authors: Jerry Farlow, James E. Hall, Jean Marie McDill, Beverly H. West