Answer to Question #5869 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

I am hunting for images of radioactive decay in action, in a kind of time-lapse photo sequence. Do you have any idea who (persons or organization) would be best to talk with regarding this research? Many thanks!

I'm not quite sure whether you are seeking images that simulate the decay process—for example, emission of specific radiations—or whether you are looking for images that show applications of radioactive decay in various settings—for example, medical applications of radioactive decay. In either case, I am not familiar with a single good source, but there are many possible resources available through the Internet.

There is an instructive video on Google that might be of interest.

There are a number of university-connected sites that have educational/training materials available online. The University of Michigan Health Physics Society site is well known and has a lot of information as well as links to other sites. There is a slide show dealing with some aspects of radioactive decay at the Physics Department site, also at the University of Michigan. Here is another link to a university, Idaho State, that also has considerable available information. If you are interested in the mathematical description of the exponential decay (or growth) process, here is a link to a Dartmouth College site that might be useful (scroll down to section 3.2 to select and view the videos).

There are numerous other sites of various types that have different kinds of information available. Professional organizations, such as the Health Physics Society, have various educational resources available, as well as links to other sources. Government agencies may be good resources; here is an Occupational Safety and Health Administration site that has some simple descriptions of the decay radiations. There are also commercial sources that have educational materials dealing with radiation and radiation protection; here is a link to one such vendor (this selection in no way constitutes a recommendation of this vendor over others).

You can review many other sources on the Internet. I don't know whether you will find exactly what you are looking for, but I expect you will find much that is helpful. I wish you good luck in your pursuit.

George Chabot, PhD, CHP