You might say, “I’ve flipped ten heads in a row. If you flip “heads” ten times in a row, what are the chances that the next flip will be “heads”. For example, even if the probability of a decay within the next second is 99%, it is nevertheless possible (but improbable) that the nucleus will decay only after millions of years. You can't, however, predict the time at which a given atomic nucleus will decay. In an interval twice as long (2 T) the nucleus survives only with a 25% probability (half of 50%), in an interval of three half-life periods (3 T) only with 12.5% (half of 25%), and so on. This probability amounts to 50% for one half-life. It is possible to determine the probability that a single atomic nucleus will "survive" during a given interval.
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