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Is there radioactivity at absolute zero?
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Theoretically, will a radioactive material still be radioactive at absolute zero? What would happen at the lowest realistic temperatures we have ever achieved?
Will radioactivity stop at absolute zero, since it is a nuclear phenomenon and nuclear motion slows down as we approach absolute zero (and theoretically stopping entirely at absolute zero)?
atoms radioactivity
edited 3 hours ago
orthocresol♦
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Harsh jain
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up vote
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Theoretically, will a radioactive material still be radioactive at absolute zero? What would happen at the lowest realistic temperatures we have ever achieved?
Will radioactivity stop at absolute zero, since it is a nuclear phenomenon and nuclear motion slows down as we approach absolute zero (and theoretically stopping entirely at absolute zero)?
atoms radioactivity
edited 3 hours ago
orthocresol♦
36.5k7106212
asked 4 hours ago
Harsh jain
4271312
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
Theoretically, will a radioactive material still be radioactive at absolute zero? What would happen at the lowest realistic temperatures we have ever achieved?
Will radioactivity stop at absolute zero, since it is a nuclear phenomenon and nuclear motion slows down as we approach absolute zero (and theoretically stopping entirely at absolute zero)?
atoms radioactivity
edited 3 hours ago
orthocresol♦
36.5k7106212
asked 4 hours ago
Harsh jain
4271312
Theoretically, will a radioactive material still be radioactive at absolute zero? What would happen at the lowest realistic temperatures we have ever achieved?
Will radioactivity stop at absolute zero, since it is a nuclear phenomenon and nuclear motion slows down as we approach absolute zero (and theoretically stopping entirely at absolute zero)?
atoms radioactivity
atoms radioactivity
edited 3 hours ago
orthocresol♦
36.5k7106212
asked 4 hours ago
Harsh jain
4271312
edited 3 hours ago
orthocresol♦
36.5k7106212
asked 4 hours ago
Harsh jain
4271312
edited 3 hours ago
orthocresol♦
36.5k7106212
edited 3 hours ago
orthocresol♦
36.5k7106212
edited 3 hours ago
orthocresol♦
36.5k7106212
36.5k7106212
asked 4 hours ago
Harsh jain
4271312
asked 4 hours ago
Harsh jain
4271312
asked 4 hours ago
Harsh jain
4271312
4271312
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
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Theoretically, a radioactive material will still be radioactive at absolute zero, and its rate of decay will be $100.00%$ of that at room temperature. Practically, at the lowest achievable temperatures we observe the same thing: radioactivity is still there, not affected the slightest bit.
Nuclear motion does not slow down as we approach absolute zero, because there is no such thing as nuclear motion in the first place. In a way, all nuclear motion has stopped already at room temperature. Each nucleus just sits there in the ground state and does not know what happens in the chemical world above. From its point of view, the room temperature is the same as absolute zero. To reach its first excited state, it would need energies a great deal greater than that.
Say, you heat your radioactive sample until it melts. Then you heat it a few more thousand degrees, until all materials, including tungsten, melt and then evaporate. Then you heat it some more, until even the strongest chemical bonds are broken and there are no more molecules, just atoms. Then you heat it about ten times more, until atoms lose much of their valent electrons and you have a highly ionized plasma. Then you heat it about a hundred times more, until all atoms lose all their electrons and you have something like a stellar plasma. Then you heat it some more, just in case. Then, and not before, your nuclear processes will show first feeble indication of thermal dependence of any sort.
Short of that, you could just as well have asked if the radioactivity in a sample stops when you paint it blue.
answered 1 hour ago
Ivan Neretin
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
Theoretically, a radioactive material will still be radioactive at absolute zero, and its rate of decay will be $100.00%$ of that at room temperature. Practically, at the lowest achievable temperatures we observe the same thing: radioactivity is still there, not affected the slightest bit.
Nuclear motion does not slow down as we approach absolute zero, because there is no such thing as nuclear motion in the first place. In a way, all nuclear motion has stopped already at room temperature. Each nucleus just sits there in the ground state and does not know what happens in the chemical world above. From its point of view, the room temperature is the same as absolute zero. To reach its first excited state, it would need energies a great deal greater than that.
Say, you heat your radioactive sample until it melts. Then you heat it a few more thousand degrees, until all materials, including tungsten, melt and then evaporate. Then you heat it some more, until even the strongest chemical bonds are broken and there are no more molecules, just atoms. Then you heat it about ten times more, until atoms lose much of their valent electrons and you have a highly ionized plasma. Then you heat it about a hundred times more, until all atoms lose all their electrons and you have something like a stellar plasma. Then you heat it some more, just in case. Then, and not before, your nuclear processes will show first feeble indication of thermal dependence of any sort.
Short of that, you could just as well have asked if the radioactivity in a sample stops when you paint it blue.
answered 1 hour ago
Ivan Neretin
22.1k34482
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
Theoretically, a radioactive material will still be radioactive at absolute zero, and its rate of decay will be $100.00%$ of that at room temperature. Practically, at the lowest achievable temperatures we observe the same thing: radioactivity is still there, not affected the slightest bit.
Nuclear motion does not slow down as we approach absolute zero, because there is no such thing as nuclear motion in the first place. In a way, all nuclear motion has stopped already at room temperature. Each nucleus just sits there in the ground state and does not know what happens in the chemical world above. From its point of view, the room temperature is the same as absolute zero. To reach its first excited state, it would need energies a great deal greater than that.
Say, you heat your radioactive sample until it melts. Then you heat it a few more thousand degrees, until all materials, including tungsten, melt and then evaporate. Then you heat it some more, until even the strongest chemical bonds are broken and there are no more molecules, just atoms. Then you heat it about ten times more, until atoms lose much of their valent electrons and you have a highly ionized plasma. Then you heat it about a hundred times more, until all atoms lose all their electrons and you have something like a stellar plasma. Then you heat it some more, just in case. Then, and not before, your nuclear processes will show first feeble indication of thermal dependence of any sort.
Short of that, you could just as well have asked if the radioactivity in a sample stops when you paint it blue.
answered 1 hour ago
Ivan Neretin
22.1k34482
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
Theoretically, a radioactive material will still be radioactive at absolute zero, and its rate of decay will be $100.00%$ of that at room temperature. Practically, at the lowest achievable temperatures we observe the same thing: radioactivity is still there, not affected the slightest bit.
Nuclear motion does not slow down as we approach absolute zero, because there is no such thing as nuclear motion in the first place. In a way, all nuclear motion has stopped already at room temperature. Each nucleus just sits there in the ground state and does not know what happens in the chemical world above. From its point of view, the room temperature is the same as absolute zero. To reach its first excited state, it would need energies a great deal greater than that.
Say, you heat your radioactive sample until it melts. Then you heat it a few more thousand degrees, until all materials, including tungsten, melt and then evaporate. Then you heat it some more, until even the strongest chemical bonds are broken and there are no more molecules, just atoms. Then you heat it about ten times more, until atoms lose much of their valent electrons and you have a highly ionized plasma. Then you heat it about a hundred times more, until all atoms lose all their electrons and you have something like a stellar plasma. Then you heat it some more, just in case. Then, and not before, your nuclear processes will show first feeble indication of thermal dependence of any sort.
Short of that, you could just as well have asked if the radioactivity in a sample stops when you paint it blue.
answered 1 hour ago
Ivan Neretin
22.1k34482
Theoretically, a radioactive material will still be radioactive at absolute zero, and its rate of decay will be $100.00%$ of that at room temperature. Practically, at the lowest achievable temperatures we observe the same thing: radioactivity is still there, not affected the slightest bit.
Nuclear motion does not slow down as we approach absolute zero, because there is no such thing as nuclear motion in the first place. In a way, all nuclear motion has stopped already at room temperature. Each nucleus just sits there in the ground state and does not know what happens in the chemical world above. From its point of view, the room temperature is the same as absolute zero. To reach its first excited state, it would need energies a great deal greater than that.
Say, you heat your radioactive sample until it melts. Then you heat it a few more thousand degrees, until all materials, including tungsten, melt and then evaporate. Then you heat it some more, until even the strongest chemical bonds are broken and there are no more molecules, just atoms. Then you heat it about ten times more, until atoms lose much of their valent electrons and you have a highly ionized plasma. Then you heat it about a hundred times more, until all atoms lose all their electrons and you have something like a stellar plasma. Then you heat it some more, just in case. Then, and not before, your nuclear processes will show first feeble indication of thermal dependence of any sort.
Short of that, you could just as well have asked if the radioactivity in a sample stops when you paint it blue.
answered 1 hour ago
Ivan Neretin
22.1k34482
answered 1 hour ago
Ivan Neretin
22.1k34482
answered 1 hour ago
Ivan Neretin
22.1k34482
answered 1 hour ago
Ivan Neretin
22.1k34482
22.1k34482
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
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