INTRODUCTION
============

RADIATION DECAY provides radioactive decay information for 497 
radionuclides.
Data provided include the half life, radioactive daughter nuclides, decay 
chain series, probabilities per decay, and Decay product energies for 
alphas, betas, positrons, electrons, X-rays, and photons.

The radionuclide can be selected from an Alphabetical list, or selected 
from a Periodic Table.
(These are available from the 'Select' Item of the menu bar.)

Full coping to clipboard and output to printer is supported.

The radioactive elements can be searched, to find an element that emitts
a particular Alpha, Electron, or Photon emission.   
For example, say a photon spectrum gives two photon peaks at 150 keV and 420 keV.
The radioactive elements can be searched for photons that give a 150 keV,
then the previously found elements can be searched for the 420 keV photon.
Hence Photon spectrums can be matched to photon emitters.

This program is essentially a Windows duplicate of the shareware DOS 
program RADDECAY.EXE.
The initial program was written by:
                     1987 Grove Engineering, Inc.
                     15215 Shady Grove Rd., Suite 202, Rockville, MD 20850!
                     (301) 258-2727


PROGRAM OPERATION
=================

To get started, copy the program DECAY.EXE and associated data files 
(*.REC) to a directory of your hardrive.  This will be achieved by unziping
the pkzip file to a directory.
The *.REC files must be in the same directory as the executable DECAY.EXE.

The program icon should then be inserted into a program group of Program 
Manger.  This is achieved by selecting FILE then NEW then PROGRAM ITEM on 
the Program Mangers Menu bar.
Choose BROWSE in the submenu, and located the program DECAY.EXE then 
choose OK.

Start the program by double clicking on the program icon displayed by 
the program manager.

Select the HELP menu item to obtain a windows help file for more information.


REQUIREMENTS
============

The program is written in 16Bit Borland Delphi, hence the program will run 
under MS-Windows 3.1 or 3.11, Win95, or Win98.
The program requires no external DLL's, (such as required by MS-Visual Basic 
applications).

The program Requires that the eight data files, be in the same directory as 
the executable DECAY.EXE.
The Data files are listed below.
	ALPHA.REC
	BETAS.REC
	ELECTRON.REC 
	NUCLIDES.REC
	PHOTONS.REC
	POSITRON.REC
	PROGENY.REC
	RADDAT.REC


'm' NOMENCLATURE 
================

The "m" on a radionuclide generally refers to the element being an unstable 
higher energy form of the nuclide, that will decay to the same element with a lower energy.
The DOS RadDecay state they attached a suffix of "m" where a nuclide decays in two modes.  
In general, the shorter half life was assigned the "m" suffix.  In one case (Iridium 190) 
there were three decay modes and therefore they used suffixes of "m1" and "m2."

This DOS RadDecay nomenclature, was used in the Windows version.  
Although this nomenclature (to my understanding) is not strictly correct.


FREEWARE INFORMATION
====================

This program and data files are free-ware, hence the Authors gives permission 
for making copies of this program, and using the data files contained within, 
'Without Restriction'.
The program code (DECAY.EXE) is my work, yet the data files (*.REC) are from 
data files included with the DOS program RADDECAY released as free-ware by 
Grove Engineering.  Grove Engineering gives permission for making copies of 
their  program, and to use the data *.rec files of their program.  As they 
state, 'Permission is granted for making copies of RADDECAY without any 
restrictions.  Also when you create a program that uses any of the .REC 
files, you should acknowledge the Author'.  
The authors being:  
     a) Grove Engineering as the originators of the microcomputer 
        formatted files, and
     b) RSIC as the original source of the data, 


If you use the program, it would be nice to get an Email.  
I would also like to know your comments, and any additions that would benefit the program.

My Email address is:  C.Hacker@griffith.gu.edu.au


LIABILLITY 
==========

No liabillity whatsoever for the program operation, use of the data, 
accuracy of the data, loss of information, or anything else is accepted 
by the author of this program.

Also, neither the author of the original program or author of the radiation 
data tables offer any liabillity for their program or data.  The authors 
being:  
     a) Grove Engineering as the originators of the microcomputer 
        formatted files, and
     b) RSIC as the original source of the data,