A 60-kg person accidentally ingests a small source of alpha particles (RBE=15). The activity of the source is 0.04 Ci, the half-life of the source is 110 years, and each alpha particle emitted has an energy of 0.586 MeV. It takes 12 hours for the alpha source to pass through the person’s digestive system and exit the body. i. How many alpha particles are absorbed by the person (assume that 100 percent of the alpha particles emitted by the source are absorbed by the person)? ii. How much energy, in Joules, is deposited in the person by the source? iii.What is the absorbed dose in rad?
Radioactive decay
The emission of energy to produce ionizing radiation is known as radioactive decay. Alpha, beta particles, and gamma rays are examples of ionizing radiation that could be released. Radioactive decay happens in radionuclides, which are imbalanced atoms. This periodic table's elements come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Several of these kinds are stable like nitrogen-14, hydrogen-2, and potassium-40, whereas others are not like uranium-238. In nature, one of the most stable phases of an element is usually the most prevalent. Every element, meanwhile, has an unstable state. Unstable variants are radioactive and release ionizing radiation. Certain elements, including uranium, have no stable forms and are constantly radioactive. Radionuclides are elements that release ionizing radiation.
Artificial Radioactivity
The radioactivity can be simply referred to as particle emission from nuclei due to the nuclear instability. There are different types of radiation such as alpha, beta and gamma radiation. Along with these there are different types of decay as well.
A 60-kg person accidentally ingests a small source of alpha particles (RBE=15). The activity of the source is 0.04 Ci, the half-life of the source is 110 years, and each alpha particle emitted has an energy of 0.586 MeV. It takes 12 hours for the alpha source to pass through the person’s
i. How many alpha particles are absorbed by the person (assume that 100 percent of the alpha particles emitted by the source are absorbed by the person)?
ii. How much energy, in Joules, is deposited in the person by the source?
iii.What is the absorbed dose in rad?
iv. What is the absorbed dose in rem?
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