Abstract

Geological dating using radioactive materials is a commonly used method that entails known uncertainties. In this study we investigated whether some of these known uncertainties result from changes in the decay rates of the Uranium decay chain. The Uranium decay chain includes Ra-222 radioactive gas decay. In previous studies, we presented the hypothesis that neutrino flux rises during the eruption of solar flares, reacts with the radioactive nucleus, and thus can alter its decay rate. NaI(Tl) detectors for gamma radiation measurements, facing Rn-222 gas that was in equilibrium with a Ra-226 source, were utilized to conduct count rate measurements. Throughout the period of these measurements, we tracked solar flare events. Our findings indicate that the Rn-222 radioactive isotope decay was affected by an orders-of-magnitude rise in the neutrino flux caused by strong solar flares. Monte Carlo simulation was performed to simulate the change in the Radium decay rate over a duration of solar activity, based on the measured counts dips, and tallied with the magnitude and incidence of solar flare events. The results demonstrate that the half-life of Ra-226 rose by 6% from the value ascribed in the literature its literature value due to the solar activity. The half-life change found in previous research concerning Th-232 was 35%, a much greater change that could alter radiometric dating results. However, the change in the half-life of Ra-226 is relatively small and will not make an apparent difference to radiometric dating. We conclude that solar flares affect the half-lives of different radioisotopes in different ways, encouraging further investigation of this kind.

Keywords:Half-life; Solar flare; Dating; Decay constant; Radioactive