So we are
dealing with this mysterious process that supposedly takes places constantly,
but we are not able to hear it, see it, feel it, smell it or taste it! They
tell us that we cannot predict it neither can we control it; it is random and
spontaneous.
It is difficult to imagine this. Forget about radioactivity and let’s play a game of riddles. What is it that you can hear, see, feel, smell and taste! Indeed, what is it that is white, has a crackling sound, smells yummy and tastes salty!? What is it that does not emit dangerous products like radioactive particles, that flourishes unpredictably and once it has done it, it cannot come back to its initial form?
C’mon! You eat them in the cinema… POP CORNS!
Now think of radioactivity like popcorns. You put popcorns in the microwave and they suddenly start popping. Each kernel has the potential to pop, but you cannot guess which one would do it first or last, it is impossible to predict which kernel will pop in the next instant. Such a random, spontaneous and unpredictable phenomenon. Exactly like radioactive decay!
Here it is, the perfect metaphor to understand radioactive decay.
It is difficult to imagine this. Forget about radioactivity and let’s play a game of riddles. What is it that you can hear, see, feel, smell and taste! Indeed, what is it that is white, has a crackling sound, smells yummy and tastes salty!? What is it that does not emit dangerous products like radioactive particles, that flourishes unpredictably and once it has done it, it cannot come back to its initial form?
C’mon! You eat them in the cinema… POP CORNS!
Now think of radioactivity like popcorns. You put popcorns in the microwave and they suddenly start popping. Each kernel has the potential to pop, but you cannot guess which one would do it first or last, it is impossible to predict which kernel will pop in the next instant. Such a random, spontaneous and unpredictable phenomenon. Exactly like radioactive decay!
Here it is, the perfect metaphor to understand radioactive decay.