Radioactive Elements Research Paper

Radiation (also known as nuclear radiation) refers to particles or waves emitted by radioactive substance. Nuclear radiation comes from the waves from a nucleus. Ionising radiation can

Natural uranium consists of three isotopes: uranium-238, uranium-235 and uranium-234. Uranium 236, 233 and 232 are also produced by reactors from uranium-235 and thorium – these are the artificial isotopes. The three natural isotopes and the three artificial isotopes are all alpha emitters. Also, all isotopes of uranium are radioactive, with most having extensive half-lives.

Radioactivity is when energy is emitted from the nucleus due to the nucleus being unstable. The 3 types of radiation are Alpha ,Beta and gamma. Alpha particles have 2 protons and two neutrons. Examples of radioactive nuclei that emit alpha radiation. Are : uranium, thorium, actinium, and radium They are very ionising so they give energy off onto whatever they are in contact with. Therefore, it loses energy more quickly. They are not very penetrating so can be stopped by a piece of paper or skin. Beta particles have 1

Naturally forming uranium undergoes radioactive decay by emission of an alpha particle and gamma radiation. As the decay continues, it releases radiation.This is an extreme health issue that, in large amounts, can cause cancer and liver damage.

To understand what a radioactive isotope is a basic understanding of the atom is necessary. Atoms are comprised of three subatomic particles : protons, neutrons and electrons. Protons and neutrons bind together to form the nucleus of the atom, while the electrons surround and orbit the

Strontium-90 is a pure β emitter, produced in nuclear fission of (235U and 239Pu fission reaction). When an atom of uranium-235 (or other fissile nuclide) fissions, usually splits asymmetric into two large fragments – fission products possessing mass

The A simple definition of the word radioactiveis to have or develope a strong and dangerous form of energy. This could also be named radiation. A radioactive substance incvolves a very harmful form of energy that is developed betwen nuclear reactions. In the book "The Radioactive Boyscout" by ken Silversteint, there are several examples of radioactive substances being produced. The main character in the book is very as the title says "radioactive"

An isotope is the same atom but in a different form. The new atom would have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. Joseph Carter was the scientist who worked on the refinement of Uranium. Uranium is used because it has the largest atoms of any other natural element. The larger the atom is, the harder is is to stabilize. the lower the stabilization is, the easier it is for the nucleus to split and release energy. The use of U-235 would be used in one of the two ways of detonating a bomb which was the gun barrel way. The way this bomb works is, two pieces of U-235, individually not large enough to sustain a chain reaction, were brought together rapidly in a gun barrel to from a supercritical mass that exploded instantaneously. This method was never tested since confidence of the result was so

Nuclear waste is a by-product of the uranium enrichment process and the operation of nuclear power plants. One of the most common radioactive isotopes found in nuclear waste is plutonium-239, which is capable of causing cancer-related fatalities for millions of people in very small amounts. Other isotopes include iodine-129, cesium-137, and uranium-238, all of which are highly radioactive and have half-lives in the tens of

only four exist in nature. The most stable isotope is radium 226, and it has a half-life of 1600

Chemical elements can exist in different types which are called isotopes. Isotopes have protons, electrons and neutrons. Isotopes have the same number of protons and neutrons but different number of neutrons. There are many forms of isotopes such as radioactive isotopes. A radioactive isotope can be artificially created and naturally created, radioactive isotopes are chemical elements having an unstable nucleus which decays. Alpha, beta or gamma rays are emitted until the isotope is stable. Stable form of an isotope is nonradioactive. In the 1930s Glenn T.Seaborg and his coworker original discovered the radioactive isotope Cesium 137. Isotopes may or may not be radioactive, Cesium 137 is a radioactive isotope, only elements with an unstable

Half-life is the amount of time for half of an element to decay. Uranium-238 has a half-life of 4.5 billion years. That’s quite a long time, long enough for us to easily obtain and use it. Uranium-235 is best best used for nuclear power plants because it is fissile. That means able to undergo fission. Fission is when a neutron collides with atom and causes its nucleus to split into smaller parts. During this process a large amount of energy is released which heats water creating steam which turns a turbine creating energy. Uranium-235 can cause a chain reaction when the neutron hits the atom causing it to split and release more neutrons (an average of 2.5 neutrons are released) and the cycle continues until it stops because the released neutrons failed to hit an atom. A control rod is used to send a neutron into another atom which then restarts the cycle. When a neutron hits a uranium-238, it becomes plutonium-239 which is fissile and can be used in a nuclear power plant. Nuclear power plants provide a lot of the energy we use today and it will be a big help if we built one in East Pennsboro Township. Please take

Radiation can also be used to treat organs and tumors. There are over ten thousand hospitals that use radioisotopes in medicine. The most common isotope is technetium—99. Technetium—99 is used around 20 million times each year. The amount of radiation this isotope gives off is low, and therefore not harmful to the patient. The amount of radiation an injection of technetium—99 is 250 MBq. This number is far below boundary of radioactivity harm.

It is not until recently that people have become dependent on this element, and not necessarily for the good of it, and the world. There is an obsession with uranium because of its unique properties. Uranium is extremely powerful because of its radioactive properties and unstable nuclei, especially that of Uranium-235. It is able to break down and release high frequency radiation through alpha and beta decay. It is because of these characteristics that Uranium has such a craze on the population of the world (Cox, 1995; Scerri, 2007). The properties of uranium allow people to create powerful plants to produce electricity, and weapons strong enough to destroy the world.

Radioactivity is defined as “the spontaneous emission of particles”. (Nuclear Energy). Radioactivity is caused by an unbalanced nucleus in the cell. This happens because there is either an uneven number of protons and/or neutrons. When this happens, the element is considered to have multiple isotopes. An isotope is an atom with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons. Thus, they have different atomic weights. This is important to know because there is a such thing as a radioactive isotope. These elements just have additional energy, and they release radiation in different forms. “There are over 800 radioactive isotopes, some of which are natural and some synthetic.” (Helmenstine). Radioactive elements can be both artificial and natural. However, in medicine, most of them are more than likely synthetic, since they are the most popular types.