29 radioactivity

Chapter
Radiation takes place when an unstable nucleus breaks
down and in the process emits particles and/or rays.

A radioactive nuclide may disintegrate very quickly or may

take many years to completely decay.
Exposure to radiation can cause damage to organ tissues
and thus, radioactive materials need to be handled with
care. Despite its dangers, radioisotopes have been found to
have many applications in the medical field such as in the
treatment of cancers and tumours.
Chapter 29: Radioactivity
 Henri Becquerel did work on minerals containing uranium and found it to
emit some type of ray.

Marie Curie was interested in his work and continued to do research on the
raw compounds.
Her initial work showed that the element thorium emitted rays as well. She
coined the term ‘radioactivity’ to explain the behaviour.
Her work on a raw compound called ‘pitchblende’ resulted in the discovery of
two radioactive elements – polonium and radium.
Marie Curie received a Nobel Prize for her work on radioactivity. She was the
first person honoured with two Nobel Prizes.

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

Chapter 29: Radioactivity
 A radioactive element is an element that has an unstable nucleus.
Radioactive elements, when they disintegrate from their unstable state, produce
radiation. Namely, alpha (α), beta (β) and gamma (γ) radiation.

The nature of each type of radiation is as follows:

Alpha (α) radiation is a heavy, positively-charged particle. It is identified as a
helium nuclei.
Beta (β) radiation is a light and negatively-charged particle. It is identified as
an electron.
Gamma (γ) radiation is a high energy ray. It is identified as a high frequency
electromagnetic wave.

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

 Range of Radiation

The range of the three types of radiation in air varies with their respective
ionising ability.
A Geiger Muller (GM) tube can be used to study the range. A GM tube has gas
particles that can be ionised by a nuclear radiation or particle.
The ionised particle collects at an electrode that transmits a current. A current
pulse is then sent to an electronic counter. The count rate of the radiation can
thus be determined.

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

 Try the experiment described in the textbook for a better
understanding of the different types of radiation

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

 The alpha particle has a positive charge. It also has the largest mass compared to
the other two types of radiation.
The gamma ray, has no charge and the smallest mass.
Beta particles are emitted electrons and thus, have a significantly smaller mass than
the alpha particle and weak ionisation abilities.

The bigger the charge and mass, the shorter the

range of the radiation.

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

Chapter 29: Radioactivity
 Using a cloud chamber, one can see the tracks left behind by ionisation due
to alpha, beta and/or gamma radiation.
A cloud chamber contains dry ice and alcohol vapour. The dry ice cools the
alcohol vapour to very low temperatures.
The ions formed by the radiation shows up as tracks when illuminated as the
cool alcohol vapour surrounds the ions.

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

 The tracks of alpha The tracks of beta The tracks of gamma
particles are fairly particles are much rays are almost
straight and broad. more twisted, with difficult to visualise.
The track lengths are occasional straight The tracks are short
almost identical. This lines that are longer and broken. This is
is due to alpha being than those of the alpha due to gamma being
strongly ionising. particles. The lines are weakly ionising.
less prominent. This is
due to the weak
ionisation ability of
beta particles.

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

 Effect of Electric and Magnetic Field on Radiation
Alpha and beta particles undergo deflection in electric and magnetic fields due to
their charged nature. Gamma rays, which are uncharged, are unaffected by either
fields.
Radium-90 is a source of alpha, beta and gamma radiation. When a radium
source is placed in a uniform electric field, the three types of radiation can be
easily identified.
In an electric field

The alpha particle is deflected slightly

γ
towards the negative plate.
The beta particle is deflected
significantly towards the positive plate.
The gamma ray just passes straight
through.

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

 In a magnetic field
Alpha particles experience a slight deflection whereas beta particles experience a
significant deflection. They are deflected in opposite directions .
The alpha particles, since positively-charged, can be taken to be the direction of
conventional current.
The beta particles are negatively-charged hence its direction is opposite to that of
the current.
We can use Fleming’s Left Hand Rule to predict the direction of deflection.

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

 Nuclear Reaction
In nuclear reactions, mass number and proton number are conserved.
However, the total mass on the right hand side of the equation is not
equal to the total mass on the left hand side of the equation.
The small difference in mass is a result of energy being released.
The energy released can be calculated using Einstein’s mass-energy
equation, ΔE = mc2.

Examples of nuclear reactions:

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

 Random and Spontaneous Decay

Radioactive decay is entirely random. The decay process is

spontaneous and cannot be predicted. It can occur anywhere
and at any time.
It is completely independent of physical factors and external
conditions.

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

Chapter 29: Radioactivity
 Half-Life
Over a given period of time, the number of radioactive nuclides that will probably decay
can be predicted. This is because every radioactive nuclide has a ‘half-life’ or t1/2

Half-life, t1/2, is the time taken for the number of atoms to decay (or the rate
of disintegration) to halve its original starting value at any point in time.

Exponential Decay

At the start there are 1000 radioactive nuclides.

After two hours, the number of radioactive
nuclides drops to 500. After four hours, the
number of radioactive nuclides is 250.
The number of radioactive nuclides reduces to
half of the original number every two hours.
Thus, the half-life of the radioactive nuclide is
two hours.

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

Chapter 29: Radioactivity
 Applications of Radioisotopes

Cancer Treatment
Radiotherapy
▪ cancerous cells are killed by
exposing the affected zone to
gamma radiation.
▪ a narrow beam of the radiation is
used so that the treatment is
localised to the cancerous cells
and so that it does not affect the
non-cancerous neighbouring cells.

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

 Applications of Radioisotopes

Carbon Dating
Carbon-14 occurs naturally in living organisms.
It is radioactive and has a half-life of 5 700 years. When a living organism dies, its
carbon-14 content slowly reduces as it decays to become carbon-12.
Archaeologists can deduce the age of organic remains by analysing its carbon-14
content. If it has decreased by half, then the dead organism will be close to 5 700
years old.

Tracers to Detect Leaks

Radioisotopes that have a suitable half-life can be used to detect leaks in sewage
systems and underground pipes.
Small amounts of radioisotopes are placed into the pipe system and the
radioisotopes are detected from the ground.
Any leaks along the pipe can be detected using a radioisotope detector.

Chapter 29: Radioactivity

 Handling Radioisotopes

Generally,
• One should stay far away from radioactive materials and keep exposure time to a
minimum.
• Radioactive materials should be stored in tight lead boxes to prevent radiation
from escaping.
• Whenever radioactive materials need to be handled, tongs should be used.
• People working with radioactive sources should wear a badge that indicates the
amount of radiation that they have been exposed to.

Chapter 29: Radioactivity