Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 65, No. 4, August 2014, pp.

532∼540

Use of a GM Counter to Measure the Half-life of Ba-137m Generated by

Using an Isotope Generator

Dae Cheol Kweon

Department of Radiologic Science, Shinhan University, Uijeongbu 480-701, Korea

Jiwon Choi
Department of Radiological Science, Jeonju University, Jeonju 560-759, Korea

Kyung-Rae Dong
Department of Radiological Technology, Gwangju Health University, Gwangju 501-701, Korea
and Department of Nuclear Engineering, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Korea

Woon-Kwan Chung∗
Department of Nuclear Engineering, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Korea

Hyeon-Je Song
Department of Radiological Technology, Gwangju Health University, Gwangju 501-701, Korea

Young-Jae Kim
Department of Radiologic Technology, Daegu Health College, Daegu 702-722, Korea

(Received 2 January 2014, in final form 26 February 2014)

A Cs-137/Ba-137m isotope generator is used to demonstrate the properties of radioactive de-

cay. In this experiment, we investigate and verify the random behavior of radioactive decay and
determine the half-life of a radioactive isotope. The half-life of a radioisotope is measured in this
experiment. The purpose of this experiment is to determine the half-life of Ba-137m by using several
methods and to determine the percent error for each determination. Ba-137m decays by gamma
emission (662 keV) with a half-life of 2.6 minutes to the stable Ba-137 element. During elution,
Ba-137m is selectively “milked” from the generator, leaving behind the Cs-137 parent. Each gener-
ator is supplied with 250 mL of an eluting solution (0.9% NaCl in 0.04M HCl). A Geiger counter
interfaced with a computer is used to acquire and record the activity at set time intervals. The
half-life of the radioactive isotope Ba-137m is determined by measuring the activity of a sample
as it decays. The half-life of Ba-137m, which has been extracted from the radioisotope Cs-137, is
detected by using AktivLab. The theoretical half-life of Ba-137m is approximately 2.56 minutes,
and the result from the experiment is 2.6 minutes. In summary, a radioisotope generator containing
Cs-137 produces Ba-137m, which is extracted in a solution. The Ba-137m has a half-life of about
2.6 minutes as measured during this research.

PACS numbers: 87.58.Sp, 87.66.-a, 87.66.Jj, 87.53.Bn

Keywords: Halflife, Radioisotope, Cs-137, Ba-137m
DOI: 10.3938/jkps.65.532

I. INTRODUCTION of radioactive decay. Radioactive elements emit alpha,

beta or gamma radiation to become a new element or
a new isotope of the same element. Alpha particles, α,
In this experiment, we will study the radioactive decay are helium nuclei that have a charge of +2 and a mass
law by analyzing data for the purpose of measuring the number of 4. Beta minus particles, β, are electrons with
disintegration of a short-lived radioisotope as a function a charge of -1 and a mass number of 0. Gamma rays, γ,
of time. We will also investigate the statistical nature are electromagnetic radiation similar to X-radiation and,
thus, have 0 mass and 0 charge. An ‘m’ in an isotope’s
∗ E-mail: [email protected]; Fax: +82-62-232-9218
-532-
Use of a GM Counter to Measure the Half-life of Ba-137m· · · – Dae Cheol Kweon et al. -533-

name, such as Ba-137m means that the element is in

a metastable state and decays by emission. Examples
of nuclear equations for each type of decay mode are
given below. Notice that the mass and charge balances;
the mass (and charge) on the left must be the same as
the mass (and charge) on the right. The identity of the
new element that is formed is found from the charge of
its nucleus, which is the atomic number of the element.
The rate of radio-nuclear decay is measured in terms of
its half-life, t1/2 , the length of time necessary for one half
of a given mass of the radioactive isotope to decay. We
will measure t1/2 for Ba-137m in this experiment.
Experiments on secular equilibrium in physical sys-
tems for the introductory modern physics laboratory
have taken various forms. One of the earliest has the
disadvantage of requiring neutron-activation techniques
[1]. Some authors [2, 3] have described electronic sim- Fig. 1. Diagram of the radioactive decay of Cs-137 to Ba-
ulation methods, and others [4, 5] have proposed fluid 137. In this process, 94.6% of the nuclei are found to decay to
flow experiments. The present work is based on isotope- the 662-keV excited isomeric state Ba-137m. Ba-137m then
generator techniques [6–8] that have been used in the decays to the ground state of Ba-137 with the emission of a
undergraduate laboratory for many years. 662-keV gamma ray.
The objectives of this experiment are (1) to study ra-
dioactive decay, (2) to learn the concept of nuclear activ-
ity, (3) to learn the concept of a radioactive half-life and referred to as the dead time, can be avoided by keeping
how to measure it, and (4) to measure the radioactive the counting rates small enough that the time between
half-life of an isotope of barium. This experiment will counts is much larger than the time resolution of the de-
show the exponential behavior of radioactive decay. tector and counter. With these additional factors taken
into consideration, the detected number of particles is
still proportional to the activity of the sample and has
the same decay constant.
II. MATERIALS AND METHODS Background radiation is a common source of error in
radioactive decay counting, and although small, this er-
In this experiment a Geiger-Mueller (G-M) tube with ror can lead to a small inaccuracy in the measurement
a scaler/timer will be used to measure the radioactive of the half-life. The background radiation comes from
half-life of an isotope of barium, Ba-137m, a metastable many naturally-occurring materials that emit radiation
state of barium before it decays to its ground state. The and from cosmic rays entering our upper atmosphere
activity of Ba-137m is measured as a function of time from space. Background radiation is a constant addition
by detecting the gamma rays that are emitted, and the to the detected activity and produces an offset count that
half-life is computed from the decay rate constant. doesn’t fit the exponential decay of the source material.
The activity of the sample cannot be measured instan- Fortunately, the measurements can be easily corrected to
taneously, but instead a number of radioactive decays are compensate for this offset. A background measurement
detected and counted over a series of short time-intervals. is made by removing all other sources to be measured
This number can be shown to change exponentially with from the vicinity of the detector and then counting for
the same decay constant as the activity and, therefore, is a long time to establish an accurate measurement of the
equivalent to measuring the instantaneous activity. Also, background. Then, the background is simply subtracted
the number of detected particles is a fraction of the total from each of the measurements made with the sources
number of decays because the radiation is emitted from present.
the source in all directions, and the detector only inter-
cepts a small portion of these directions. In other words,
the detector only sees a small fraction of the total solid
1. Materials
angle. The detector also has an efficiency for counting
particles that enter it that is less than 100%. The effi-
ciency is usually a constant for a given setup and a given Radioactive Ba-137m can be extracted from a Cs-137
set of measurements, but the measurements still have the sample (Fig. 1). The relative activity of Ba-137m is
characteristic exponential relationship with the same de- then measured by counting emitted gamma rays with
cay constant. For high count rates, detectors in general, a GM counter that is interfaced with a computer. By
but especially GM tubes, have difficulty counting par- the time 30 minutes have passed, essentially no radioac-
ticles that occur nearly simultaneously. This problem, tive Ba137m remains, and it may be disposed of safely
-534- Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 65, No. 4, August 2014

Fig. 2. (Color online) Photo of the Geiger-Mueller tube. Fig. 3. (Color online) RI milking generator.

down the drain. The range of internal deviations for the per towels may be thrown into normal trash containers.
instruments used in this study has been accurately main-
tained within ±0.05%. The calibration and the correc-
tion of the radiation equipment were completed in Au- 2. Measuring the Background Radiation
gust 2013 by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science
and Technology. The decay scheme is shown in Figs. 2
and 3 and consists of (1) a nucleus scaler/timer, (2) a To measure the background, collect data for approxi-
GM tube with stand and source holder, (3) a cesium- mately 100 seconds. Record values on your data sheet,
137/barium-137m isotope-generator, (4) a planchet, (5) take an average of the readings, and round to the nearest
a source holder tray, (6) a Pasco Science Workshop 750 count. This value will be subtracted from future readings
data interface, (7) Pasco Science Workshop software, (8) (Fig. 3).
Excel software, and (9) a computer system. The perfor- Run a battery check on the Geiger counter. Connect
mance of the Geiger counter depends on the highvoltage the powered up Geiger counter to the LabPro and the
supply, which is pre-set for this experiment. Normally, LabPro to a computer. Set Logger Pro to take ten-
an experiment would be run to determine the operating second readings for the experiment’s duration of 25 min-
voltage, but that process has been eliminated for this utes. Explain to your instructor how you are going to
experiment to concentrate on the study of the measure- perform the next steps before you carry them out. Then,
ment of the half-life. Unless otherwise indicated, the high perform those steps carefully [1]:
voltage for the counter is set at 900 volts. Place a planchet on the sample tray. Dip the end of a
The instructor will make the Ba-137m source for each syringe into the solution and pull the plunger to fill the
experimenter when ready. Counting should start as soon syringe. Remove the caps from each end of the isotope-
as possible after the sample is made. After the run, the generator. Insert the syringe firmly into the entry hole
planchet with the used Ba-137m source material should on the top of the generator. While holding the generator
be placed in a baking dish in a sink to be washed. After vertically, force approximately seven drops of solution
each Ba-137m source has been washed, about 5.0 min- through the generator onto the planchet. Do not reverse
utes is required for the Ba-137m to build back to 3/4 the flow of the eluting solution through the generator into
strength. Thus, the instructor should rotate through the syringe. Immediately place the planchet sample next
several isotope-generators for each class. Remember to to the Geiger counter and begin counting. Remove the
wipe up any spills and to wash yourself thoroughly if any syringe from the generator and replace the caps. After
of the source material should come in contact with your 30 minutes, the syringe eluting solution and planchet
skin. solution are safe to rinse down the drain. Save your data
Normal safety and wastedisposal safety precautions in an Excel spreadsheet.
are taken; that is, safety glasses and gloves should be
worn throughout this experiment. The amount of ra-
dioactive material used is extremely small. The Cs-
3. Determination of the Half-life of Ba-137m
137/Ba-137m isotope generator is exempt from federal or
state licensing and requires no special handling, storage
or disposal. The Ba-137m isotope decays to practically Obtain a Cs-137/Ba-137m mini-generator, plastic sy-
zero activity within 15 minutes. Exempt liquid products ringe with tubing, and a small metal disc included in
such as this can be discarded in the sink. Gloves and pa- the isotope-generator kit. Obtain about 2 mL of eluent
Use of a GM Counter to Measure the Half-life of Ba-137m· · · – Dae Cheol Kweon et al. -535-

Table 1. Measurement of the background.

Series
Trial
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 17 11 12 7 7 6 9 8 5 7
2 10 13 15 15 14 13 6 12 9 14
3 11 12 6 8 9 14 10 12 8 9
4 6 9 9 12 9 12 8 13 8 5
5 12 16 10 10 8 10 12 5 10 10
6 15 11 9 9 10 11 10 10 13 13
7 16 9 10 14 13 11 10 9 8 8
8 9 10 6 8 11 8 17 14 11 15
9 7 10 11 16 10 9 12 7 12 7
10 14 11 6 6 14 13 13 11 14 11
Mean 11.7 11.2 9.4 10.5 10.5 10.7 10.7 10.1 9.8 9.9
AVG 10.5 ± 0.7

Note: The numbers are expressed as counts per second.

Table 2. Background data. time you eluted the 6-drop sample, and then start taking
10-second counts. Continue to take 10-second counts im-
Series Average mediately after each other for a total of 7 minutes. You
1 56.8 should have 42 10-second counts.
2 60.9 The data array on the screen only shows about 10
3 59.9 trials, but all of your trials are contained in that array.
4 57.8 To view more than the first 10 trials, use the array index
5 55.6
(the first 10 values are index numbers 0-9). With 42
counts, you should have indices 0 through 41 in your data
mean 58.2 ± 2.4
array. When all trials are done, upload the data to Excel.
Be sure to save the data. Clean up by rinsing the metal
Note: The numbers are expressed as counts per second. disc and placing the liquid into the liquid radioactive
waste bottle in the waste hood. Do not put liquid wastes
into the jar for Thorium clean-up waste. The plastic
syringe and tubing can be rinsed in the sink.
solution in a small test tube (1 mL ≈ 20 drops). This
solution should be 0.9% NaCl and 0.04M HCl. It is not
radioactive. Push the CLEAR button on the screen to
4. Half-life of Ba-137m
clear any data from the data array (Fig. 3). Attach the
tubing to the plastic syringe. Draw about 1 to 2 mL of
eluent up into the syringe through the tubing. Then, re- Wait until your instructor is in position to add the Ba-
move the tubing from the syringe. The tubing is useful 137 to the planchette. Press the collect button. A mes-
when the syringe is not long enough to reach into the sage window opens. Select discard (bottom left). Your
container of eluting solution. Hold the mini-generator instructor will deposit a small amount (5-10 drops) of the
over the small metal disc. Remove the end caps from Ba-137m onto your planchette. Data will automatically
the top and the bottom of the mini-generator, and at- be plotted on the chart. (Note that the data are sampled
tach the syringe to the top opening of the mini-generator every ten seconds.) Collect the data for 600 seconds.
(see accompanying figure). Carefully press the syringe When collection is done, stop the count by pressing
to elute about 6 drops from the bottom opening of the the red collect button (Fig. 3). Go to the data table (top
mini-generator onto the metal disc. These drops contain menu), and record time (seconds) and radiation (counts)
the Ba-137m. Note the time (the position of the second onto your data/results table. Subtract the background
hand) as soon as the 6 drops have been eluted. Return reading from this value; record the result in the corrected
the caps to the mini-generator as soon as possible. If column of the data table.
any of this eluted liquid spills, wipe up the spill imme- To determine the half-life by using your tabulated
diately with a paper towel and dispose of it in the dry data, take all cpm values needed from the corrected cpm
waste jar in the waste hood. Wait one minute from the column in your table. Find the largest cpm reading from
-536- Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 65, No. 4, August 2014

Fig. 4. (Color online) Typical results for the decay of

barium following separation, as obtained by using a Geiger
Fig. 5. (Color online) Linear decay curve of Ba-137m.
counter.

the data table. Record the time in seconds for that read- for the numbers in Table 3. As shown in the figures,
ing. Divide this cpm reading by 2. Find the corrected the number was halved every 2.6 minutes. In Fig. 4, the
cpm value from your data that is closest to this reading. net counting rate for 0 minute is 173.8, and half of this
Record the corresponding time. In most cases you will number is 86.9, which corresponds to a time of approxi-
have to estimate the time. Find the time difference be- mately 2.7 minutes, which is the half-life. In Fig. 4, the
tween the largest cpm reading and the cpm/2 reading. data are plotted on a semi-log scale, and the result is a
This is the half-life of Ba-137m in seconds. straight line with a slope of −0.32. Using the half-life
To determine the half-life by using a plot of corrected formula half-life = 0.693/decay constant (λ), where the
counts vs. time (s), plot the counts on the y axis and time decay constant is the negative of the slope of the straight
on the x-axis. Make sure that the corrected radiation line, we obtain a half-life of 0.693/0.32 = 2.2 min.
count points are drawn as vertical error bars to reflect the
uncertainty in the readings. To find the half-life, select
a reading and its corresponding time, then, select the
half-reading and its time. The difference in times is the IV. DISCUSSION
half-life. We conducted our study using Ba137m because
of its short half-life, and we assumed that only a slight The Cs-137/Ba-137m isotope generator is designed to
deviation between the theoretical and the experimental demonstrate the properties of radioactive decay. Based
half-lives would be clearly seen in the measurements. on the original Union Carbide design, it offers excep-
tional performance combined with ease of use and safe
operation. This product is exempt from USNRC and
State licensing and requires no special handling, storage
III. RESULTS
or disposal. A small quantity (< 10 μCi.) of radioac-
tive Cs-137 is bound on a special ionexchange medium.
The background radiation was measured 10 times at The Cs-137 parent isotope beta decays with a 30.17year
intervals of 10 seconds. The mean value of all counts for half-life to produce Ba-137m, which in turn decays with
natural radioactivity was confirmed to be 10.5 (Table 1). a 2.55min halflife, generating a 661.6keV gammaray.
Table 2 lists the results of the background measurements. This gamma ray may be readily detected using a GM
The measurements were conducted for a total of 5 series or scintillation radiation detector. An eluting solution is
with 1 series consisting of 10 measurements at intervals used to selectively extract the Ba-137 isotope from the
of 60 seconds. The mean value for each series was calcu- exchange medium, leaving the parent Cs-137 isotope in
lated before calculating the mean value for the 5 series. place to regenerate more Ba-137. Equilibrium is reestab-
According to the calculation results, the mean value was lished in less than 1 hour. Approximately 30 minutes
58.2 with a standard deviation of 2.4. after elution, the residual activity of the Ba-137 solution
Table 3 lists the measurement results for radioactivity has decayed to less than 1/1000 of its original activity,
from Ba-137m for the experiment that reflected the the- making it safe for normal disposal. When used with the
ory most precisely. The net counting rate and the stan- eluting solution supplied, bleed through of the Cs-137
dard error were plotted to calculate the precise value of parent isotope is less 50 Bq/mL. If correct chemical sta-
the half-life of Ba-137m. Figures 4 and 5 show graphs bility is to be maintained, using only the correct eluting
Use of a GM Counter to Measure the Half-life of Ba-137m· · · – Dae Cheol Kweon et al. -537-

Table 3. Experimental data for determining the half-life.

Count Net counting rate Net counting rate Standard error

Time (s) Standard deviation
(Ni ) (min−1 ) (curve) (min−1 ) (linear) (linear)
0 232.0 173.8 15.4 0.0 0.1
1 193.0 134.8 14.1 −0.2 0.1
2 159.0 100.8 12.8 −0.5 0.1
3 138.0 79.8 12.0 −0.8 0.2
4 127.0 68.8 11.5 −1.0 0.2
5 113.0 54.8 10.9 −1.3 0.2
6 100.0 41.8 10.3 −1.6 0.3
7 89.0 30.8 9.7 −2.2 0.5
8 77.0 18.8 9.1 −2.4 0.6
9 70.0 11.8 8.7 −2.9 1.0

Table 4. Half-life values for the four methods used in this work and from the literature. Each value is the weighted average
of the results of five measurements. The range of Chi-square values is given for these five measurements.

Detector Method Half-life Range of Chi-squarea

Decay 2.577 ± 0.009 0.97 − 1.14
Geiger counter
Growth 2.568 ± 0.042 0.85 − 1.10
Decay 2.576 ± 0.006 0.95 − 1.03
NaI spectrometer
Growth 2.550 ± 0.009 0.98 − 1.05
Literature valueb 2.552 ± 0.001

a. Range of Chi-square probability: 0.10 − 0.97. Fourteen of the twenty Chi-square probabilities fall in the range 0.30 − 0.70.
b. National Nuclear Data Center, Brookhaven National laboratory, Upton, New York11973,
[http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/nndcscr/testwww/AR137BA.HTML]. This recommended value is the weighted average of four
published measurements.

solution is important. Additional solution may be or- it decays to the ground (lowest energy) state of Ba-137
dered as part ELSN or prepared by the user as 0.9% NaCl by emitting a gamma ray with an energy of 662 keV.
in 0.04M HCl. When making the solution, use distilled Only 6% of the time does the Cs-137 decay directly to
or DI water to avoid unwanted mineral contamination. the stable ground state of Ba-137. An isotope genera-
The isotope Cs-137 is unstable and decays by emitting tor containing Cs-137 is used to produce the radioactive
an electron (a process also known as β − decay) with a nuclei. When one drop of dilute HCl is passed through
5.4% probability of decaying to the ground state of Ba- the generator, some Ba atoms go into solution and are
137 and a 94.6% probability of decaying to an excited removed from the generator. The instructor uses a circle
state Ba-137m, which is 662 keV above the ground state. of green felt moistened with this solution to measure the
This excited state is unusually longlived, lasting on the half-life of the Ba-137m nucleus.
order of minutes as opposed to the nanoseconds or the The halflife of the isomeric state can be determined by
picoseconds for typical excited states of nuclei. This de- measuring the activity with time, which follows
cay process is represented in the energy diagram shown
in Fig. 1. The half-life of metastable Ba-137 nuclei will A = A0 e−λt , (1)
be measured. These nuclei are products of the radioac- where A is the relative activity at time t, A0 is the rel-
tive decay of Cs-137. The decay scheme is represented ative activity at time t = 0, and λ is the decay con-
in the energy-level diagram shown. stant. Experimentally, the number of gamma rays, C,
The half-life of Cs-137 is 30 years. When Cs-137 de- detected from the sample in a given time interval will
cays, a neutron in this nucleus changes to a proton with be proportional to A, while the statistical nature of√the
the emission of a β particle. Most of the time, the daugh- decay causes an uncertainty in C that is given by C.
ter nucleus Ba-137 is created in the metastable Ba-137m A physical system that satisfies the conditions for secu-
state. The half-life of this state is 2.55 minutes, and lar equilibrium is the Cesium-137/Barium-137 mixture.
-538- Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 65, No. 4, August 2014

Figure 1 show the decay scheme for this system. where RA0 is the initial activity of A, RB is the activity
The source material for Ba-137m is an isotope gen- of B, and T1/2 (A) and T1/2 (B) are the halflifes of A and
erator consisting of an exempt quantity of Cs-137. An B, respectively. For t  T 12 (B), RRA0
B
= λλB
A
, and B is in
exempt quantity is a quantity small enough that no li- secular equilibrium with A. In our case, A is Cs-137 and
cense is required to purchase the material and, there- B is Ba-137m.
fore, is deemed to be a minimal health hazard. The AktivLab contains a Cs-137/Ba-137m isotope genera-
cesium atoms are in molecules of a cesium salt, CsCl, tor. The radionuclide Cs-137 has a halflife of 30.25 years
that have been adsorbed by small beads of a resin ma- and decays via a metastable state (Ba-137m, halflife 2.6
terial. The Ba-137m atoms are a daughter product that min) to a stable isotope of barium (Ba-137). This de-
results from the decay of Cs-137 according to the scheme cay scheme is shown in Fig. 1. The generator is used in
shown in Fig. 1. As the Cs-137 atoms decay to the Ba- two ways in AktivLab: first, it is used to illustrate the
137m atoms, the Ba-137m atoms remain adsorbed on principle of a radionuclide generator, in which a short-
the surface of the resin, but because barium is in a dif- lived radionuclide is obtained from a longerlived parent;
ferent chemical form than the cesium was previously, it is second, the generator is used as a source of gamma radi-
more loosely bound to the resin and can be de-adsorbed ation. The generator has a nominal activity of 370 kBq
with a weakly acidic salt solution containing HCl and of Cs-137. The eluting solution and the instructions on
NaCl. Small aliquots of the shortlived Ba-137m isotope elution are included in AktivLab. The eluting solution
can then be extracted from the resin by using this elut- can also be ordered separately.
ing solution. The cesium atoms have a half-life of 30 Radioactive decay follows firstorder kinetics. This
years and are always decaying and building up an equi- means that the rate of decay is proportional only to the
librium amount of Ba-137m. Ba-137m has a half-life of amount of unstable isotope present. We can write this
only 2.55 minutes (153 seconds) and quickly decays to as [11,12]
its stable ground state by the emission of a 0.662 MeV
gamma ray. dy
The Ba-137m is said to be selectively “milked” from = ky (where k < 0), (7)
dt
the generator, which is sometimes referred to as a “cow.”
As the Ba-137m daughter product is washed out of the where y = the number of atoms of the unstable isotope
generator, the Cs-137 parent product is left behind to at time t. We can solve this differential equation and get
regenerate additional Ba-137m atoms. Regeneration of
y = y0 ekt . (8)
the Ba-137m occurs as the Cs-137 continues to decay,
and equilibrium is re-established in less than an hour. The decay constant k (“relative rate of decay”) depends
Because Ba-137m has a short half-life, it only takes ap- on the particular isotope and nothing else. A represen-
proximately 30 minutes after a sample is acquired for tation for the decay of a nucleus is
the residual activity to have decayed to less than onet-
housandth of its initial activity, thus making it safe for Parent nucleus → daughter nucleus + radiation particle.
disposal. However, regardless of how safe this isotopic
generator system is to work with, care should be taken (9)
to avoid spills and contact with your skin. Should a spill The radioactive isotope 137m Ba can be produced in a
occur or contact with the skin be made, wipe off the ex- container called an isogenerator, or “nuclear cow”, by
cess liquid and wash thoroughly with soap and water [9, the decay of 137 Cs. The decay process looks like
10].
137 137m
The reactions for the scheme shown in Fig. 1 are Cs → Ba + β − → 137
Ba + γ. (10)
137
55 Cs →137 m 0
56 Ba +−1 e + ν̄, (2) The cesium decays to metastable barium with the emis-
sion of a beta-minus particle (β − , an electron). The half-
137 m
55 Ba →137
56 Ba + γ, (3) life for that reaction is about 30 years. The metastable
barium has a short half-life; it loses excess energy as low-
and are governed by the decay equation energy gamma radiation (γ) to form stable 137 Ba.
λB RA0 −λA t Both types of barium, stable and unstable, are pro-
RB = (e − e−λB t ), (4) duced inside the cow from the decaying cesium. They
λB − λA
are separated from the cesium and flushed out by “milk-
which for ing the cow”, that is, by passing a dilute solution of
hydrochloric acid and NaCl through the cow. Barium
TA  TB , λB  λA or T 12 (B)  T 12 (A) (5) reacts with the acid to form soluble barium chloride, and
the solution is drained out. The cesium does not react,
is given by
being held by an ion-exchange medium inside the cow.
λA RA0 A Geiger counter, located next to a small beaker with
RB ≈ (1 − e−λB t ), (6) the barium solution, will be used to measure the “activity
λB
Use of a GM Counter to Measure the Half-life of Ba-137m· · · – Dae Cheol Kweon et al. -539-

rate” R(number of clicks in each time interval). Each γ law (Eq. 11), where No is the number of parent nuclei
from a decaying nucleus picked up by the Geiger counter present at t = 0.
produces a click representing the decay of one barium
nucleus. Then the number of clicks recorded per minute −dN
R= = N0 e−λt = R0 e−λ (12)
has something to do with the number of nuclei that have dt
decayed in that minute.
where Ro is the initial activity. The unit of activity is
The nuclear decay process described above can be de-
the Becquerel, defined as 1 disintegration/sec. Also used
tected by observing the 2.6 minute half-life associated
is the Curie (Ci), where 1 Ci = 3.7 × 1010 Becquerels.
with the decay of Ba-137m. The Cs-137/Ba-137m gen-
When the natural logarithm of activity is plotted versus
erator can produce small quantities of the shortlived Ba-
time, a straight line results.
137m isotope. The Ba-137m sample is produced by gen-
The decay rate of a radioactive isotope is normally
tly forcing an eluting solution (0.9% NaCl) through an
characterized by its half-life, t1/2 , which is defined as the
exchange medium containing the parent Cs-137 isotope.
time required for one-half of a given number of nuclei
During elution, the Ba-137m is selectively “milked” from
to decay. Equivalently, t1/2 is the time interval during
the generator, leaving behind the Cs-137 parent. Re-
which the activity of a radioactive sample decreases by
generation of the Ba-137m occurs as the Cs-137 contin-
a factor of two:
ues to decay, re-establishing equilibrium in less than 1
hour. Each generator contains 10 μCi of Cs-137, which N 1 −λt 1 1
represents an exempt quantity, making if free from spe- = =e 2 = ln = 0.693 = −λt 12 (13)
N0 2 2
cific state and federal licensing requirements. Approxi-
mately 30 minutes after elution, the residual activity of The experiment was conducted using an AktivLab ra-
the Ba-137m solution has decayed to less than 1/1000 of diation dosimeter with a view to measuring the half-life
its original activity, making it safe for normal disposal. of a radioactive isotope and to appling the measurement
A Geiger-Müller tube can detect the gammaray emission results in clinical practice. Although the experiment was
associated with the decay of the Ba-137m nuclei, and the conducted based on an AktivLab laboratory note, there
computer will record the number of events per minute. were many limitations on the measurements of the back-
The instructor will provide a few drops of an HCl-NaCl ground due to the location and other factors. The natu-
solution containing the eluted Ba-137m. Radioactive de- ral radiation was difficult to measure at a low dose. Fur-
cay is described by the equation thermore, performing an active measurement was very
difficult because the experiment was conducted several
N (t) = N0 e−λt , (11) times for simple natural radiation. Ba-137m was used at
the radioisotope because it has a short half-life. There-
where N(t) is the number of radioactive nuclei remaining fore, measuring its half-life is case, as is obtaining such
at time t, N is the initial number at t = 0, and λ is light sources compared to other light sources [3].
the decay constant. The activity, A, or the number of If the half-life of a radioactive isotope is considered in
disintegrations per unit time given in Eq. (1) is related to clinical practice, the radiation dose that still remains in
the number of decaying nuclei N by A = λN. The mean the body system can be calculated. Owing to such calcu-
life, τ , is equal to the inverse of the decay constant and lations, delays in examinations can be prevented because
is related to the half-life, T1/2 , by the equation T1/2 = the examination time can be kept precise. In addition,
τ ln(2) = 0.693τ = 0.693/λ. In this experiment, you will the time for replacing therapeutic radionuclides such as
measure T1/2 and compare your experimental value with Co-60 and Cs-137, which is conducive to the mainte-
the known half-life of 2.6 minutes. nance and management of performance, can be deter-
The nature of radioactive decay is determined by the mined; furthermore, radioactive isotopes are being used
fundamental fact that the probability per unit time that in an increasing number of fields. Radioactive isotopes
a radioactive nucleus will undergo decay is equal to some are used not only for diagnosis but also for treatment. In
positive constant called the decay constant. The value of addition, radioactive isotopes are used to help perform
this constant depends on the type of decay and on certain surgery, treat diseases to help patients relieve their fears,
properties of the nucleus undergoing decay (the parent and obtain a greater effect by creating a synergistic ef-
nucleus), as well as on the nucleus that remains after fect from performing surgery and conducting treatment
the decay has taken place (the daughter nucleus). From simultaneously. A wider variety of isotopes are gradually
this fundamental relation, it follows that for a sample being used, which leads to an expansion of the treatment
containing N radioactive nuclei at time t, the number scope using isotopes.
decaying per unit time is N and the number dN that In this experiment, many trial and error processes ex-
decay in time dt is Ndt. Because the nuclei that decay isted, which brought the aforementioned results. The re-
in time dt represent a decrease in the number of parent sults suggest the following: In the initial experiment, the
nuclei present in the sample, one can write the change conclusion was not in accordance with theory. The rea-
in N as dN = − Ndt. Integrating this expression from sons are that the authors were not familiar with the ex-
t = 0 to some later time t yields the radioactive decay perimental process and were faced with many limitations
-540- Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 65, No. 4, August 2014

on the location for measurement of background. Nev- radioactive decay. The experiment lends itself to the use
ertheless, the authors conducted the experiment many of several types of nuclear counting systems. Significant
times and obtained a value that was as close as possible results can be achieved with inexpensive Geiger counter
to the value in theory. In addition, a more precise exper- units. The study of secular equilibrium enhances and
iment can be conducted if the following factors are taken extends the use of the isotope generator. Two samples
into consideration: can be produced with a single elution. The experiment
First, natural radiation should be excluded as much as lends itself to data analysis, non-linear curve fitting and
possible to conduct a precise measurement of the half- goodness of fit studies.
life of a radioactive isotope. Therefore, the experiment
should be conducted in a space shielded with a lead wall
or in a vacuum. This experiment was conducted both
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
above and below ground in a school building. A com-
parison of the results in the two places confirmed that
This work was supported by the Nuclear Safety Re-
natural radiation was lower below ground than above
search Program through the Korea Radiation Safety
ground.
Foundation (KORSAFe) and the Nuclear Safety and Se-
Second, recording the time for the radioactive equi-
curity Commission (NSSC), Republic of Korea (Grant
librium of the isotope is important. After Ba-137m was
No. 1305033).
eluted from CS-137, it took approximately 20 30 min-
utes until the equilibrium state was restored. Therefore,
the elution needs to take place at a time when the Ba-
137m concentration is highest [4]. A lack of compliance REFERENCES
with such an amount of time can lead to Ba-137m with
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V. CONCLUSION

This work demonstrates that an isotope generator may

be used to demonstrate secular equilibrium in threelevel