Question: The power supply for a pacemaker is a small amount of radioactive 238Pu. This nuclide decays by a decay with a half-life of 86 yr.

The power supply for a pacemaker is a small amount of radioactive 238Pu. This nuclide decays by a decay with a half-life of 86 yr. The pacemaker is typically replaced every 10.0 yr.
(a) By what percentage does the activity of the 238Pu source decrease in 10 yr?
(b) The energy of the α particles emitted is 5.6 MeV. Assume an efficiency of 100%-all of the a-particle energy is used to run the pacemaker. If the pacemaker starts with 1.0 mg of 238Pu, what is the power output initially and after 10.0 yr?

Step by Step Solution

3.41 Rating (170 Votes )

There are 3 Steps involved in it

1 Expert Approved Answer
Step: 1 Unlock

a The activity is given by R R 0 12 tT12 Compute a ratio of the activities T... View full answer

blur-text-image
Question Has Been Solved by an Expert!

Get step-by-step solutions from verified subject matter experts

Step: 2 Unlock
Step: 3 Unlock

Document Format (1 attachment)

Word file Icon

956-P-M-L-M (3415).docx

120 KBs Word File

Students Have Also Explored These Related Mechanics Questions!