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[–] [Deleted] 4 points (+4|-0)

observed the radioactive decay of xenon-124, which has a half-life of 1.8 X 1022 years

not a big fan of the title but damn

[–] smallpond 3 points (+3|-0)

In a paper to be published tomorrow in the journal Nature, researchers announce that they have observed the radioactive decay of xenon-124, which has a half-life of 1.8 X 1022 years.

The achievement is the first time scientists have measured the half-life of this xenon isotope based on a direct observation of its radioactive decay.

Not that I'm prepared to invest more time reading the actual research, but I have to wonder how much confidence they have in the half-life, when you can't collect statistics on the decay.... oddly, the second sentence implies that they are doing just that.