Abstract
Recent reports of Solar modulation of beta-decay have reignited interest in whether or not radioactive half-lives are constants. A numerical approach for filtering instrumental effects on residuals is developed, using correlations with atmospheric conditions recorded while counting 204Tl emissions with a Geiger-Müller counter. Half-life oscillations and detection efficiency oscillations can be separated provided their periods are substantially different. A partial uncertainty budget for the 204Tl half-life shows significant decreases to medium-frequency instabilities correlated with pressure and temperature, which suggests that further development may aid general improvements in half-life determinations.
Original language | British English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 179-185 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Applied Radiation and Isotopes |
Volume | 127 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2017 |
Keywords
- Tl
- Beta decay
- Decay rate fluctuations
- Earth-Sun distance
- Geiger-Müller tube
- Half-life
- Radioactivity
- Total efficiency correction