Radioactivity
When an element does not change its characteristics without an external force acting on it, it is called a stable element. But all elements are not stable. The nucleii of these elements are continuously breaking down and emitting particles to become stable. This phenomenon of shredding particles and trying to get stable is called Radioactivity. The particles emitted are generally categorized as alpha, beta and gamma. When one element sheds these particles, most of the times they also turn into other elements, like Plutonium breaks and becomes Uranium and through its further breaking Thorium is created. Hans Geiger Geiger Counter Carbon Dating All the living things on Earth contain a special form of Carbon in the body. Now this Carbon starts decaying when the living thing died. Scientists have discovered that the nucleus of this Carbon takes 5,730 years to get half dead or to come to its half life. By calculating the amount of this Carbon left or decayed, scientists can fairly say the t