Radiation - Part 1

Atoms are the building block of life. There are 110 different atoms called elements. Every atom is made up from three main parts. 

1. Protons - these have a positive charge

2. Neutrons - these have a neutral charge

3. Electrons - these are negatively charged

The protons and neutrons are fund in the nucleus of the atoms (the centre) whereas the electrons orbit in shells around the nucleus. The number or protons in an atom is equal to the number of electrons. 

Each element has a different atomic number. Each element also has a mass, this is made up of the number of protons and neutrons inside the nucleus. If an element were to have 3 protons and 4 neutrons it would have a mass of 7. 

The number of neutrons in a named element can differ. For example most atoms of carbon have 6 neutrons however some atoms of carbon have 8 neutrons. These two different types of elements are called isotopes. 

Isotope - is a copy of an atom with a different number of neutrons. 

Another example of an isotope is Chlorine-35 and Chlorine-37. Chlorine-35 has 18 neutrons whereas Chlorine-37 has 20. They're still…