i'm sure most already know this, but anyway!

[jverne]

The nuclear fragments of heavy-element fission which are of greatest
concern are those radioactive atoms (also called radionuclides) which decay
by emitting energetic electrons or gamma particles. (See "Radioactivity"
note.) An important characteristic here is the rate of decay. This is
measured in terms of "half-life"--the time required for one-half of the
original substance to decay--which ranges from days to thousands of years
for the bomb-produced radionuclides of principal interest. (See "Nuclear
Half-Life" note.) Another factor which is critical in determining the
hazard of radionuclides is the chemistry of the atoms. This determines
whether they will be taken up by the body through respiration or the food
cycle and incorporated into tissue. If this occurs, the risk of biological
damage from the destructive ionizing radiation (see "Radioactivity" note)
is multiplied.

half-life, hehe

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Yup. If you didn't learn this in GCSE physics, you weren't listening.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[FictiousWill]

The US school system general science curriculum covers physics and biology (including topics such as half-life) before the age necessary to play M-rated games.

 

[Teta_Bonita]

So THAT's why they call that ps2 co-op mod "Decay". I already new about this, but I never really thought about the connection. So uh, like, pretty cool.... and stuff...

 

[Pesmerga]

Yeah...although, does a substance ever completely decay into nothingness? What happens to the stuff that decays? It can't just vanish...

 

[Angry Lawyer]

When radioactive crap decays, it loses whatever made the element unstable - usually a proton, or something. The original element changes into something different, and the lost particle flies out as some form or radiation.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[kirovman]

Yeah...although, does a substance ever completely decay into nothingness? What happens to the stuff that decays? It can't just vanish...

The radioactive particle doesn't just vanish when it decays. It just decays to a more stable configuration, releasing radiation.
edit: basically what he said above