secular equilibrium
noun1
The situation of the quantity of a radioisotope remaining constant because it is produced (by decay of a parent isotope) at the same rate that it decays.
Nuclear physics
- In decay schemes of this type, the following three conditions may predominate: (1) secular equilibrium, (2) transient equilibrium, and (3) the state of no equilibrium.1998, Michael F. L'Annunziata, Handbook of Radioactivity Analysis, Academic Press, page 61:
- The ^{₆₈}Ge/^{₆₈}Ga and the ^{₈₂}Sr/^{₈₂}Rb generators represent secular equilibria.2016, Tobias L. Ross, Frank Roesch, “Life sciences: Nuclear medicine diagnosis”, in Frank Rösch, editor, Nuclear- and Radiochemistry, Volume 2: Modern Applications, Walter de Gruyter, page 443:
1 more example
- At the same time, because of differences in the chemistry of the daughter and parent elements involved in such secular equilibria, this parent:daughter ratio may not be equal to 1.2020, David J. Burdige, Geochemistry of Marine Sediments, Princeton University Press, page 43: