A quantity is said to be subject to exponential decay if it decreases at a rate proportional to its value. Symbolically, this can be expressed as the following differential equation, where N is the quantity and λ is a positive number called the decay constant:
The solution to this equation is:
This is the form of the equation that is most commonly used to describe exponential decay. The constant of integrationC is often written N0 since it denotes the original quantity.
An important characteristic of exponential decay is the time required for the decaying quantity to fall to one half of its initial value. This time is called the half-life, and often denoted by the symbol t1 / 2. The equation describing half-life is:
Some forms of exponential decay have an alternative characterization. If the decaying quantity is the number of discrete elements of a set, it is possible to compute the average length of time for which an element remains in the set. This is called the mean lifetime, and is described by the following equation:
The following table shows the reduction of the quantity in terms of the number of half-lives elapsed.
Half-lives
Percent of quantity remaining
0
100%
1
50
2
25
3
12.5
4
6.25
5
3.125
6
1.5625
7
0.78125%
Applications
Exponential decay occurs in a wide variety of situations. Most of these fall into the domain of the natural sciences. Any application of mathematics to the social sciences or humanities is risky and uncertain, because of the extraordinary complexity of human behavior. However, a few broadly exponential phenomena have been identified there as well.
In a sample of radionuclides or other particles that undergo radioactive decay to a different state, the number of particles in the original state follows exponential decay.
If an object at one temperature is exposed to a medium of another temperature, the temperature difference between the object and the medium follows exponential decay. See also Newton's law of cooling.
The rates of certain types of chemical reactions depend on the concentration of one or another reactant. These reaction rates consequently follow exponential decay. For instance, enzyme-catalyzed reactions behave this way.
The field of glottochronology attempts to determine the time elapsed since the divergence of two languages from a common root, using the assumption that the similarity between them decreases at a predictable rate, such as an exponential one.
The popularity of fads, fashions and other cultural memes (for instance, attendance of popular films) often decays exponentially.
The radioactive half-life for a given radioisotope is a measure of the tendency of the nucleus to "decay" or "disintegrate" and as such is based purely upon that probability.
The predictions of decay can be stated in terms of the half-life, the decayconstant, or the average lifetime.
The rate of radioactive decay is typically expressed in terms of either the radioactive half-life, or the radioactive decayconstant.
(The notation λ for the decayconstant is a remnant of the usual notation for an eigenvalue.
If the decaying quantity is the number of discrete elements of a set, it is possible to compute the average length of time for which an element remains in the set.
In a sample of a radionuclide that undergoes radioactive decay to a different state, the number of atoms in the original state follows exponential decay as long as the remaining number of atoms is large.
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