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human
Does being in a compound affect the radioactivity of elements like uranium?

Each isotope of uranium has it's own half-life. Uranium is also capable of forming compounds with oxygen or fluorine. Does being in a compound affect the half life of uranium? What happens to the compound if/when the uranium decays?

What about other elements besides uranium in compounds?
gpt
>Does being in a compound affect the half life of uranium?

No, in general the half life of an isotope is independent of its environment, though in isotopes that decay through electron capture there is a small effect and if an isotope can only decay by electron capture, then keeping it completely ionized will stop its decay.

> What happens to the compound if/when the uranium decays?

In general the energies involved in nuclear decay are much much higher than those of chemical bonds and so usually the molecules will be broken apart. However, there are examples of compounds that will stay together through the decay. The perbromate ion was originally produced by the decay of selenate ions, until chemical methods of production were discovered and helium hydride ions can be produced by the decay of diatomic tritium.