Radioactivity
- Created by: Epic Al
- Created on: 03-07-22 12:57
View mindmap
- Radioactivity
- atoms and decay
- alpha
- single hydrogen ion
- -4 atomic mass -2 proton number
- single hydrogen ion
- beta
- single electron
- +1 proton number
- single electron
- gamma
- waves
- Decay is random
- alpha
- Particles
- alpha
- stopped by paper
- stopped in a few cm of air
- 2 protons 2 neutrons
- beta
- stopped by a thin sheet of metal
- stopped after about 1m in air
- less ionising than alpha
- gamma
- stopped by thick lead
- unlimited range in air
- electromagnetic radiation
- ionisation in living cells can kill the cell
- alpha
- activity and half-life
- half life is the time it takes for the nuclei in the sample to halve
- count rate after n half lives = initial count rate / 2^n
- radiation in medicine
- imaging and treating caner
- usefulness depends on half life and type of radiation
- for medical imaging half life should be not too long but not too short
- gamma beam or radioactive implant can destroy cancer cells
- nuclear fission
- splitting of an atoms nucleus releasing energy
- a chain reaction occurs in a nuclear reactor when each fission event causes more fission events
- control rods absorb fission neutrons to ensure there are no chain reactions
- nuclear fusion
- forcing 2 nuclei together so they form a larger nucleus
- making 2 light nuclei collide at a very high age
- energy is released like in the suns core
- needs to be a very high temperature
- nuclear issues
- radon gas can seep into houses through the ground
- hundred of fission reactors around the world
- nuclear waste emits radiation for many years
- nuclear waste is stored safely for many years
- atoms and decay
Comments
No comments have yet been made