The element Curium has a mean life of seconds

CHEMISTRY · Subjective · US High School · Chemistry · Atomic Structure & Nuclear · Atomic Structure & Nuclear

Problem

The element Curium

{}_{96}^{248}\text{Cm}

has a mean life of

10^{13}

seconds. Its primary decay modes are spontaneous fission and

\alpha

-decay, the former with a probability of 8% and the latter with a probability of 92%. Each fission releases 200 MeV of energy. The masses involved in

\alpha

-decay are as follows:

{}_{96}^{248}\text{Cm} = 248.072220u

{}_{94}^{244}\text{Pu} = 244.064100u

and

{}_{2}^{4}\text{He} = 4.002603u

. Calculate the power output from a sample of

10^{20}

Cm atoms. (

1u = 931\text{ MeV}/c^2