Each atom of a particle element the majority of the time look and behave the same as any other atom of the same element. When comparing two atoms of Carbon for example, they both contain the same number of protons and electrons. In this case the both contain 6 protons. The equal number of protons and neutrons in this atom creates stability in its nucleus. The two atoms of carbon also have the same mass, approximately 12 amu, but like all things in nature there are exceptions. A different atom of carbon can contain 8 neutrons in its nucleus for every 6 protons. When an atom of an element contains more or less neutrons to protons an unstable environment is now created in the atom which is called a radioactive isotope. The loss of a neutron in the nucleus of an atom emits energy which can also be referred to as radiation. What makes these radioactive isotopes so different between stable atoms is the energy that is released through the loss of the extra neutron in the atom in an attempt to stabilize. This energy that is released in this everyday phenomenon has become quiet helpful as we find uses for it in our everyday lives. Radiation has quickly become on the most influential aspects of modern medicine. One aspect of medicine that has been greatly affected by the discovery and …show more content…
Nuclear fusion occurs in the nucleuses of two elements that have somewhat light masses. The nucleuses of these two elements are brought together at extremely high speeds to ultimately create the new nucleus of a new element. Very few radioactive particles are created through this process, it also mostly takes place in the stars. Where as in nuclear fission, the nucleus of a heavy atom is split into two smaller nuclei. During this process the loss of neutrons releases energy in the form of gamma rays. This process rarely occurs in nature due to the force require to split an
To understand how and why nuclear weapons cause so much disaster and pain, it is first necessary to understand how they work. There are two types of nuclear bomb: fission and fusion. What is fission? Well, everything in the world is made up of atoms. Atoms are made up of a nucleus, which consists of a ball of protons and neutrons, and electrons, which orbit the nucleus. Fission is the process by which atoms are hit with neutrons and split into lighter atoms. In this process, the huge amount of binding energy which holds the protons and neutrons of the nucleus together is released, and pieces of the nucleus fly apart with enormous energy called radioactivity. This energy is turned into heat, which vaporizes all nearby material. When the inventors realized how frighteningly powerful their discovery could
The chemical and nuclear properties of the nucleus are determined by the number of protons, called the atomic number, and the number of neutrons, called the neutron number. The atomic mass number is the total number of nucleons. For example, carbon has atomic number 6, and its abundant carbon-12 isotope has 6 neutrons, whereas its rare carbon-13 isotope has 7 neutrons. Some elements occur in nature with only one stable isotope, such as fluorine. Other elements occur with many stable isotopes, such as tin with ten stable isotopes.
In conclusion, radioactivity has both negative and positive aspects. Negative impacts include the radiation leaking and damage healthy organism or cell during treatment while positive aspects consist of many different uses in medical science, security and daily life items. I support the uses of radioactivity because the positive aspects outweigh the negative aspects and I believe that in the future the radioactivity can be used positively in many other
“At the sun core, powerful gravitational force generates heat and pressure, causing a reaction where by two hydrogen atoms collide and bond in to heavier helium atoms” (Naik, Guatam). The word fusion is when a merging of separate elements into a unified whole. “Scientist can’t replicate the tremendous gravitational force feeding sun and stars, they must find other ways to generate the intense heat and pressure needed to fuse the hydrogen atoms” (Naik Gautam). “It’s clean energy, virtually limitless fuel available, no chain reactions, with little to no waste and very low fuel cost but it’s unproven, commercial power plants will be very expensive to build and require extremely high temperature” ( Nolten, Tanja). Fusion should advance under general guidelines with some government control by how fusion was invented, backgrounds into fusion, the future of power and fission versus fusion. “Both fission and fusion are nuclear reactions that produce energy, but the applications are not the same” (Duke, Energy).
A thermonuclear weapon is a weapon intended to discharge energy in an unstable way as a consequence of atomic splitting, atomic combination, or a mix of the two procedures. Fusion weapons are regularly alluded to as nuclear bombs. Fission weapons are additionally alluded to as atomic bombs or, all the more ordinarily, hydrogen bombs; they are normally characterized as atomic weapons in which no less than a segment of the energyis discharged by atomic combination.
Even though nuclear fusion and nuclear fission sound alike, they’re very different from each other. Nuclear fusion is when two or more nuclei combine to making a new element with a higher atomic number, and nuclear fission is the act of splitting a large atom into two or more smaller, lighter atoms. Nuclear fission releases heat energy by splitting the atoms, and nuclear fusion makes heat energy by taking smaller atoms and combining them together to make a bigger one. Nuclear fission usually doesn’t occur in nature, and is mostly used in nuclear power plants and stuff like that, while nuclear fusion occurs in nature all the time; such as stars and the sun. Nuclear fusion is basically electricity that we use in our everyday lives. Nuclear
In nuclear fusion, two light nuclei consolidate to create a vast amount of energy, but in nuclear fission, a heavy, unstable nucleus splits into two lighter nuclei (Duke Energy). For example, shown above in the balanced nuclear equation, two hydrogen nuclei combine to create one helium nucleus and in the balanced nuclear fission equation, Li6+n splits into two lighter nuclei, He4+H3.
Do you ever wonder how radiation was discovered? Or when it was discovered? It all started in 1895, when Wilhelm Roentgen discovered x-rays. Six years later, he was honored with the first Nobel Prize in Physics; by then, doctors were already using primitive x-rays to diagnose illnesses(Men’s Health watch 1). The collaboration between physicians and physicists has continued ever since, resulting in amazing advances far beyond Roentgen’s wildest dreams. Physicists tell us that ionizing radiation delivers energy in the form of photons that pack enough oomph to strip electrons away from the nuclei of atoms(1). We are continuously exposed to tiny amounts of ionizing radiation from cosmic rays and naturally occurring radioactive elements here on earth. We accept this so-called background radiation without blinking an eye, but we
Science is a measurement of true knowledge to the world and for some is a bragging front to show the amount of intelligence and power some countries have. Through certain aspects of science, countries can demonstrate any amount of dominance they have by demonstrating new technologies and theories. Fusion and Fission is one of the great explorations that man has discovered due to the benefits it brings to human life. The promise of fusion is enormous due to how big of an energy system it gives and it comes together by fuel that is obtained by seawater and is also mixed with lithium from the earth’s crust. Most people get Fission and Fusion confused and they figure that it is the same thing.
Nuclear fusion is an atomic reaction where atoms combine to form a bigger atom with less mass. The most common nuclear fusion is when hydrogen nuclei forms helium nuclei. This occurs in stars that are small such as our sun. When there is low amount in nuclear fuel a star then turns into a red giant as its core grows smaller, denser, and hotter. Our sun will eventually turn into a red giant, theoretically vaporizing Earth. Once the core has nothing to fuse but iron, it will immediately begin the final phase. The temperature in the core rises over 100 billion degrees and then the star explodes. After a supernova, all that’s left of the star is a small, dense core called a neutron star. Also after the explosion, a black hole
Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction where the atomic nuclei of low atomic number have been fused together to create a heavier nucleus with the release of energy. Fusion powers the sun which is already being conducted in laboratories throughout the world by scientists. Byproducts of the fusion process are a fast neutron and helium. These carry the heat to turn it into steam. Throughout the country there are 47 out of 50 states that support the fusion industry. For nuclear fusion to occur, there must be temperatures over a million degrees. On the sun and stars, nuclear fusion occurs. Hydrogen nuclei fuse to form helium nuclei in the sun. Only one percent of mass from an atom is converted into energy. It produces less radioactive weight
This is done by bombarding radioactive particles such as Plutonium and Uranium 235 with energy and causing a split. On a basic level it is the conversion of small amounts of mass into massive amounts of energy. Nuclear fission is used in nuclear power plants and atomic bombs, in both instances the radioactive material is bombarded with gamma rays, causing a split of the atom and a massive release of energy. There are two types of induced fission, photo-fission, and particle-induced fission. Photo-fission utilizes gamma rays to bombard a nuclei and cause it to split, particle-induced fission is when a nucleus absorbs a smaller particle such as a proton or neutron (or other) and becomes excited, splitting and releasing energy in the form of free neutrons and gamma rays. The free neutrons created are due to the difference in the nuclei of Barium (141) and Krypton (92) from Uranium 235. When the Uranium splits and the energy is released it can cause a chain reaction with the elements around it and continue producing massive amounts of energy until the Uranium is
These therapies are used to treat a range of illnesses from malignant and benign tumors, palliation, pain relief and other diseases. Nuclear medicine therapies are very effective as they target the ailments and therefore there is minimum exposures are delivered to surrounding tissues. It is known that radiation therapy is beneficial on its own and is especially effective with the use of other modalities to cure or relieve diseases. Furthermore, radiopharmaceutical therapies are also useful in decreasing the risk of the reoccurrence of the illnesses they are treating. Since the treatments include radiation with large amounts of activity, it is wise for both the patient-healthcare provider to reduce additional exposures by educating, communicating with and isolating the patient. In summary, it can be said with confidence that the use of radiopharmaceuticals for therapeutic procedures is known to be an effective way for the elimination of pain and
Nuclear fission is the splitting of large nuclei into smaller ones. An atom called Uranium-235 absorbs a neutron and fissions into two atoms, releasing some binding energy and three new neutrons. One of those neutrons does not continue the reaction and is instead
Radiation therapy is the utilization of radiation in order to treat diseases like cancer as well as to detect other ailments that someone may have. Since the development of radiation therapy many advancements have been made both to the process of using radiation itself, which in turn increased its effectiveness for medical use, and to the study of other possible uses for radiation. The concepts behind radiation therapy are not overly complicated, but they are still revolutionary ideas that have greatly impacted society and people’s wellness.