The radioactive isotope 238Pu, used in pacemakers, decays by emitting an alpha particle with a half-life of 86 yr.
(a) Write an equation for the decay process.
(b) The energy of the emitted alpha particle is 9.0 × 10-13 J, which is the energy per decay. Assume that all the alpha particle energy is used to run the pacemaker, calculate the power output at t = 0 and t = 10 yr. Initially 1.0 mg of 238Pu was present in the pacemaker.