Calculate Maximum β Kinetic Energy from (^137)Cs

Here we bring in Mathematica' s Units and Physical Constants packages

Needs["Units`"]
Needs["PhysicalConstants`"]

Define some convenient conversion factors

cLight=1.0 SpeedOfLight
MeV=Mega ElectronVolt
amu=Convert[1.0 AtomicMassUnit cLight^2,MeV]
Melectron=Convert[ElectronMass cLight^2, MeV]

Now for the isotope data base. When you execute these lines the first time, Mathematica will go onto the web and download a bunch of information (which could take a while...)

IsotopeData["Properties"]

Calculate the max β kinetic energy using the isotope atomic masses

Units of the atomic mass data : AMU

IsotopeData["Cesium137","AtomicMass","Units"]

Atomic mass difference. Use our 'amu' to convert to MeV

(IsotopeData["Cesium137","AtomicMass"]-IsotopeData["Barium137","AtomicMass"])amu