I got to wondering today about how well lead stops radioactivity. When
a radioactive substance decays the rate of decay is given as a "Half
Life" value. It's my understanding that even though the time it takes
for half of the material to decay can be predicted the actual time it
takes for any individual atom cannot. Lead will attenuate the
radioactivity. And thicker lead will stop more radioactivity. If a
really thick lead sheet (say 1 mile thick) is used will some
radioactivity still penetrate it completely? Is it all just a matter
of degree? Are some forms of radioactivity completely stopped?
Just curious.
ERS