Half-Life Calculator – Estimate Radioactive Decay Easily

This half-life calculator helps you determine the time it takes for a substance to reduce to half its initial quantity through decay.

Half-Life Calculator

Use this calculator to find the remaining quantity of a substance based on its half-life and the time elapsed. The half-life is the time taken for the quantity to reduce to half its initial value.

How to Use

  1. Enter the initial amount of the substance in the “Initial Amount” field.
  2. Input the half-life of the substance in the “Half-Life” field. Ensure the time unit for half-life and time elapsed are the same.
  3. Enter the time elapsed since the beginning of the decay process in the “Time Elapsed” field.
  4. Click on the “Calculate” button to compute the final amount.
  5. The result will be displayed in the “Result” field.

How It Calculates

The calculator uses the half-life formula N = N0 * (1/2)(t/t1/2), where:

  • N is the remaining amount of the substance,
  • N0 is the initial amount of the substance,
  • t is the time elapsed, and
  • t1/2 is the half-life of the substance.

Limitations

The accuracy of the half-life calculator is contingent upon the correctness of the values entered. It assumes the decay process is consistent with first-order kinetics and does not account for other influencing factors that might alter the decay rate. Hence, this calculator should be used for estimation purposes only.