Radioactive decays processes are random and occur spontaneously with time. Do you think it'll ever be possible

Question

to design an experiment which predicts the true nature of decays.

Or is it like predicting Earthquakes?

Answer 1

Randomness IS the true nature of decays. We already know this, and we know that it is impossible to predict the exact moment when a nucleus will decay. The best we have are probabilistic models, and that's how it will stay.

Answer 2

Nuclear decays obey quantum laws, which means that you can't "dig" into the probabilities in order to find any deterministic system. Therefore, there's no basis for "predicting" which particles will undergo a decay at any given time.

In contrast, if we put enough sensors to measure position and stress in rocks, we could predict earthquakes. That's not based on quantum probabilities.

Answer 3

The random and spontaneous nature refers to which nuclei in a sample undergoes decay - this is unpredictable.

What is predictable is the ratio of parent nuclei to daughter nuclei, we can calculate what length of time it takes for a given sample to have a 1:2 ratio of parent to daughter - this of course is the half life, related to the decay constant and the exponential decay equation.

Answer 4

Earthquakes can already be predicted if you know what's happening down inside and underneath the Earth's crust. I personally suspect that nuclear decay will also eventually become predictable as people gain a better and better knowledge of physics and metaphysics.