Mathematica software graphical simulation of Iodine isotopes nuclear decay for teaching purposes

Abstract

The aim of this work is to show the simulation of the nuclear decay of Iodine isotopes using the Mathematica software package. The nuclear decay of Iodine occurs most often during nuclear accidents in various types of nuclear facilities, during which radioactive isotopes are produced. Radioactive Iodine isotopes lead to the manifestation of harmful side effects, but with the development of science, it has been established that some of them can be used for diagnostic purposes and to detect certain types of carcinoma. The software package itself makes it possible to actively change the parameters in real time that are characteristic for the nuclear decay of Iodine. Graphically by displaying the exponential curves for decayed and non-decayed nuclei, the ratio of the number of undecayed nuclei as a function of the elapsed time can be directly calculated. The model can be implemented in classes and enables students to better understand nuclear decay in the undergraduate courses of Physics, Physics 2 and Computer simulation of physical phenomena.