🧪 Particle Decay Simulator

An interactive web-based simulation of radioactive decay using Monte Carlo methods and D3.js visualization.

🌟 Features

• Interactive Interface: User-friendly controls for selecting isotopes and particle counts
• Monte Carlo Simulation: Realistic particle decay simulation using random probability
• Theoretical Comparison: Compare simulation results with theoretical exponential decay
• Beautiful Visualizations: Dynamic charts using D3.js with responsive design
• Comprehensive Isotope Database: Over 1000+ isotopes with accurate half-life data
• Educational: Perfect for learning about radioactive decay and nuclear physics

🚀 Live Demo

Visit the live application: Particle Decay Simulator

🛠️ Technology Stack

• Frontend: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (ES6+)
• Visualization: D3.js v7
• Styling: Modern CSS with Flexbox and Grid
• Data: JSON format with comprehensive isotope database
• Deployment: GitHub Pages

📁 Project Structure

particledecay/
├── index.html          # Main HTML file
├── style.css           # CSS styles and responsive design
├── script.js           # Main application logic
├── data.json           # Isotope database
└── README.md           # Project documentation

🎯 How It Works

1. Isotope Selection: Choose from a comprehensive database of radioactive isotopes
2. Particle Count: Set the initial number of particles (100-10,000)
3. Monte Carlo Simulation: Each particle has a probability of decaying based on the isotope's half-life
4. Visualization: Real-time plotting of both simulation and theoretical decay curves
5. Results Analysis: Compare simulation results with theoretical predictions

🔬 Physics Background

The simulation implements the fundamental equation of radioactive decay:

N(t) = N₀ × e^(-λt)

Where:

• N(t) = number of particles at time t
• N₀ = initial number of particles
• λ = decay constant (λ = ln(2)/T₁/₂)
• T₁/₂ = half-life of the isotope

The Monte Carlo simulation uses the probability of decay per time step: P(decay) = 1 - e^(-λΔt)

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• A modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
• No additional software installation required

Local Development

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/particledecay.git
   cd particledecay

2. Open index.html in your web browser or use a local server:

   # Using Python 3
   python -m http.server 8000
   
   # Using Node.js (if you have http-server installed)
   npx http-server

3. Navigate to http://localhost:8000 in your browser

GitHub Pages Deployment

1. Push your code to a GitHub repository
2. Go to repository Settings → Pages
3. Select "Deploy from a branch" and choose main branch
4. Your site will be available at https://yourusername.github.io/repository-name

🎨 Customization

Adding New Isotopes

Edit data.json to add new isotopes in the format:

{
  "name": "isotope-name",
  "halfLife": halfLifeValue,
  "timeScale": timeScaleExponent
}

Styling

Modify style.css to customize the appearance:

• Color scheme in CSS variables
• Layout adjustments
• Responsive breakpoints

Features

Extend script.js to add new features:

• Multiple isotope comparison
• Different decay modes
• Export functionality
• Advanced statistics

📊 Data Sources

The isotope database includes:

• Half-life values from nuclear physics databases
• Time scales ranging from nanoseconds to billions of years
• Common isotopes used in research and medicine

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• D3.js community for the excellent visualization library
• Nuclear physics researchers for the isotope data
• Educational physics community for inspiration

📞 Support

If you have any questions or suggestions, please open an issue on GitHub or contact the maintainers.

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Made with ❤️ for physics education