Measurement of the thorium-228 activity in solutions cavitated by ultrasonic sound

Abstract

We show that cavitation of a solution of thorium-228 in water does not induce its transformation at a faster rate than the natural radioactive decay. We measured the activity of a thorium-228 solution in water before, and after, it was subjected to a cavitation at 44 kHz and $250$W for 90 minutes in order to observe any change in the thorium half-life. The results were compared to the original activity of the sample and we observed no change. Our results and conclusions conflict with those in a recent paper by F. Cardone et. al. [Phys. Lett. A 373 (2009) 1956-1958].

6 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables, v1 submitted to Physics Letters A. v2: minor corrections, change caption for tables (include comment for counter efficiency with uncertainty) and symbols for beta-alpha

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