In nuclear physics, transient equilibrium is a situation in which equilibrium is reached by a parent-daughter radioactive isotope pair where the half-life of the daughter is shorter than the half-life of the parent. Contrary to secular equilibrium, the half-life of the daughter is not negligible compared to parent's half-life. An example of this is a molybdenum-99 generator producing technetium-99 for nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures. Such a generator is sometimes called a cow because the daughter product, in this case technetium-99, is milked at regular intervals. Transient equilibrium occurs after four half-lives, on average.
Read more about Transient Equilibrium: Activity in Transient Equilibrium, Time of Maximum Daughter Activity, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words transient and/or equilibrium:
“For the most part we allow only outlying and transient circumstances to make our occasions. They are, in fact, the cause of our distraction.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“They who feel cannot keep their minds in the equilibrium of a pair of scales: fear and hope have no equiponderant weights.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)