• adj16@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    6 months ago

    Does Uranium decay when it’s in compounds with other elements? What happens to the bonds when it turns into some other element? What happens to the compound?

    • Natanael@slrpnk.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      6 months ago

      Chemical bonds can affect decay rates IIRC, but it’s not usually a huge difference. The nucleus is still going to be unstable. It definitely changes the molecule (and might break it)

      • ulterno@lemmy.kde.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        6 months ago

        Chemical bonds can affect decay rates IIRC

        That’s interesting. Only read about this in High School and maybe because of the “not usually a huge difference”, it was claimed that chemical bonds don’t affect decay rates.
        I always felt a bit weird with that conclusion, but maybe it was just to make the maths easier, not having to include effects from another force into the calculations.

        • Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          6 months ago

          It’s like saying ants don’t affect buildings. In the vast majority of situations it’s true, but carpenter ants can destroy wooden structures in some cimates.

          The high school class is concerned about the effects of gravity, wind, rain, earthquakes, and maybe taxes on buildings, while the college+ classes can get into the effects of wood eating organisms, angry tenants, and killdozers.