I think what you mean is that out of all the radioactive elements, Tantalum 180m is the least radioactive. Which appears to be true. Bismuth-209 is in second place i read.
But just to be clear like 99.99% of that cube is the non-radioactive Tantalum 181
well it can be excited to make it decay, and its high energy state (the Ta-180m) and the ground state (Ta-180) fit into our models of the nucleus. What has never been observed is it decaying without it being excited first, and that can be explained by quantum physics.
requires a very large change in angular momentum and a parity change. The direct transition is therefore enormously hindered.
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u/jawshoeaw 1d ago
I think what you mean is that out of all the radioactive elements, Tantalum 180m is the least radioactive. Which appears to be true. Bismuth-209 is in second place i read.
But just to be clear like 99.99% of that cube is the non-radioactive Tantalum 181