Problem Statement.docx

PROBLEM STATEMENT  A Brief Explanation on Decay (Half-life of Radioactive Substance) based on an incident at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

An atomic bombs fell, contaminating Hiroshima and Nagasaki with radioactive particles that should have made those cities uninhabitable for thousands of year. Why are we are so concerned, then, about those partially melting reactors in Fukushima? And yes, now determined to be a nuclear accident level 7 disaster, the same as Chernobyl, when both cities are not only safe, but vibrant? The atomic bomb that detonated over Hiroshima used Uranium-235, while the Nagasaki bomb had Plutonium-239. The halflife of U-235 is 700 million years, while that of Pu-239 is 24,000 years. In other words, once on the ground, they will be there for a very long time. Today, the background radiation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is the same as the average amount of natural radiation present anywhere on Earth. It is not enough to affect human health. These bombs exploded high up in the air and all the radioactive material blew or rained away. From all reports, the plume dissipated over land and sea. Same for Nagasaki and the 12 pounds of Pu-239 particles. There was a slight increase of leukemia in the Nagasaki region, but no additional incidence of cancers anywhere in and around Hiroshima. Thus, contrary to any kind of logical sense, while the high altitude (1968 feet for Hiroshima and 1800 feet for Nagasaki) of the nuclear explosions immediately killed 200,000 people, these cities soon became safe, and are thriving today.

ANALYSIS OF DATA  Decay (Half-life of Radioactive Substance) ) based on an incident at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (Question and Suitable Solution) Question : If the half-life of 100.0 grams of a radioactive isotope is 8 years, how many grams will remain in 32 years?