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Geology Index PageRadioactive Decay
Radioactive decay results from the breakdown of a radioactive parent substance to a stable daughter substance. Radioactive decay breaks down at a predicable rate over the life of the substance. Various different types of radioactive substances have different half life. The sample substance above starts off at whole, after the first half life, half of the material has been converted into the daughter substance. In the second half life, one-fourth of the parent substance remains and three-fourths of the daughter substance now exist. The process will continue until all the parent substance is converted into the stable daughter substance.