Since naturally occurring uranium (U-238) has a half life of 4.5 billion years, then it means half of the uranium on earth has decayed into lead by now. But why only half, and why that specific half? What was special about the particles that did decay? Were they different in some way?
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To add to other explanations: you don’t realise how many atoms there are. Think a trillion dollars is a lot or unimaginably wealthy? A trillion coal atoms weights 2*10^-11 grams or 0,02 nanograms. If were to be on a coal atom in the middle of this tiny spec you’d see nothing but coal in every direction forever. And yet the amount is nearly impersivable to us.
Same thing goes for the passage of time. Sure for us 4,5 billion years is a lot due to our lifespans. Is it the same from an atoms perspective? We aren’t even sure protons are stable.
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