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Question: Answered & Verified by Expert
Two radioactive materials $X_1$ and $X_2$ have decay constants $10 \lambda$ and $\lambda$ respectively. If initially they have the same number of nuclei, then the ratio of the number of nuclei of $X_1$ to that of $X_2$ will be $1 / e$ after a time
PhysicsNuclear PhysicsTS EAMCETTS EAMCET 2009
Options:
  • A $(1 / 10 \lambda)$
  • B $1 /(11 \lambda)$
  • C $11 /(10 \lambda)$
  • D $1 /(9 \lambda)$
Solution:
2460 Upvotes Verified Answer
The correct answer is: $11 /(10 \lambda)$
$\begin{aligned} & N_1=N_0 e^{-10 \lambda t} \\ & N_2=N_0 e^{-\lambda t}\end{aligned}$
$\begin{aligned} & \Rightarrow \quad \frac{N_1}{N_2}=\frac{1}{e}=e^{-1}=e^{(-10 \lambda+\lambda) t} \\ & =e^{-9 \lambda t} \\ & \Rightarrow \quad t=\frac{1}{9 \lambda} \\ & \end{aligned}$

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