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Question
57Co decays to 57Fe by β+- emission. The resulting 57Fe is in its excited state and comes to the ground state by emitting γ-rays. The half-life of β+- decay is 270 days and that of the γ-emissions is 10−8 s. A sample of 57Co gives 5.0 × 109 gamma rays per second. How much time will elapse before the emission rate of gamma rays drops to 2.5 × 109per second?
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Solution
According to the question, when the β+ decays to half of its original amount, the emission rate of γ-rays will drop to half. For this, the sample will take 270 days.
Therefore, the required time is 270 days.
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