Radiation occurs when an unstable nucleus breaks apart and releases alpha, beta, or gamma particles; alpha particles are helium nuclei that ionize strongly but don't penetrate deeply, while beta particles are electrons that travel faster but ionize less than alpha due to their smaller size. Gamma rays have no charge, travel at light speed, and require thick shielding to stop.
Radiation occurs when an unstable nucleus breaks apart and releases alpha, beta, or gamma particles; alpha particles are helium nuclei that ionize strongly but don't penetrate deeply, while beta particles are electrons that travel faster but ionize less than alpha due to their smaller size. Gamma rays have no charge, travel at light speed, and require thick shielding to stop.
Radiation occurs when an unstable nucleus breaks apart and releases alpha, beta, or gamma particles; alpha particles are helium nuclei that ionize strongly but don't penetrate deeply, while beta particles are electrons that travel faster but ionize less than alpha due to their smaller size. Gamma rays have no charge, travel at light speed, and require thick shielding to stop.
number of protons and neutrons so that it does not break apart. • If this number changes the nucleus becomes unstable and breaks apart sending out ionizing radiation. • When this happens alpha, beta or gamma radiation is given out. • Non-ionizing radiation comes from the lower energy end of the em spectrum Before we discuss ionising radiation we need to understand a bit about isotopes.
Does anybody know anything
about isotopes? I have some books here. I would like you to discuss in your pairs the meaning of isotopes Isotopes • A particular element has a unique atomic number. • This means that the number of protons in the nucleus of that element is fixed. • For example oxygen will always have the atomic number 8. In other words it will always have 8 protons in its nucleus. Isotopes • However the number of neutrons can change. • This means that an elements atomic mass can change. (Remember Atomic mass = number of protons + number of neutrons.) • For instance Oxygen can have atomic masses 16, 17 or 18. • Work out how many neutrons each isotope has. When an element has too many neutrons compared to the number of protons it becomes unstable. Lets explore this a bit. When the nucleus of an element is unstable it can emit alpha, beta or gamma rays Radiation The Helium Atom • The Helium atom consists of two protons, two neutrons and 2 electrons. • The protons and neutrons are in the nucleus of the atom. • The electrons fly around the nucleus • Electrons are negatively charged, protons are positively charged. The Alpha Particle • The Alpha particle is the same as a helium nucleus. • The helium nucleus consists of 2 protons and 2 neutrons. • Because of the 2 protons it has a charge of +2. • A proton has a mass of 1 and so does a neutron. The Alpha Particle Continued • As we saw earlier the helium nucleus consists of 2 protons and 2 neutrons. • Because of this it has a mass of 4 • We say the alpha particle is heavy • It moves with a speed of 1/10 the speed of light. The Alpha Particle and Ionization The Alpha Particle and Ionization • The alpha particle is large compared to an electron. • If the alpha particle hits an electron on an atom it will easily knock it off. • When this happens the atom becomes ionized in other words it becomes charged. The Alpha Particle and Ionization • It is for the reason above that alpha particles (α) are very ionizing. • However because α particles are large and heavy they cannot penetrate material very deeply. The Alpha Particle and Ionization • For instance our skin protects humans from α particles. • If we get α particles inside our body they can do a lot of damage. Let us look at the kind of damage alpha particles can do if ingested Questions • What is the charge on an α particle? • What is the mass of an α particle? • What does an α particle consist of? • How fast does an α particle move? • This is a challenge: Explain how an alpha particle can cause ionization. The Beta Particle
All right then, lets talk
about the beta particle. The beta particle is simply an How can electron, but it that be sir? comes from We all know the nucleus of that there an atom are only protons and neutrons in the nucleus. Let me ask you a question. What is the charge on a proton?
That’s right, it is positive?
We know both protons and neutrons are in the nucleus and they are the same mass. Have you ever wondered why neutrons do not have a charge? We know that the proton has a positive charge and has a mass of 1. If you squash an electron into a proton, what do you think the charge would be?
The proton with its
positive charge and the electron with its negative charge add up to 0. The Neutron. • A neutron is a proton with an electron squashed into it. • The electron neutralises the positive charge of a proton. • The electron adds no mass to the neutron. • It is the electron that forms the neutron that becomes a beta particle. Questions 1. What is the charge on a proton? 2. What is the charge on a neutron? 3. What is the mass of a proton? 4. What is the mass of a neutron? 5. Explain how the neutron has no charge. The Beta Particle • A beta particle (β) is an electron. • Because it is an electron it has a charge of -1. • It is also very small. You need about 1700 electrons to equal the mass of 1 proton. • A beta particle travels faster than the alpha particle. The beta particle travels at 9/10 the speed of light. • Although it travels a lot faster than an α particle it is a lot smaller and so has less ionization effects. The Gamma Ray • The gamma ray (ϒ) is a very high energy ray. • It is part of the electromagnetic spectrum. • It travels at the speed of light. • It can only be stopped by thick concrete or thick lead. • Because it passes easily through most things it does not ionize very greatly. • It has no charge. The Uses Of Ionizing Radiation •Radioactive tracers •Sterilising •Thickness Control •Checking welds All can be found on page 352 of Keith Johnson •Alpha particles and fire alarms Questions • Where are protons and neutrons found? • What is the charge on a proton? • What is the charge on an electron? • What is the mass of a proton? • What is the mass of a neutron? • What does an alpha particle consist of? • What is the mass of an alpha particle? • How fast does an alpha particle travel? • What is the mass of an electron compared to a proton? • Calculate how much smaller an electron is than an alpha particle? • Explain why an alpha particle is a strong ioniser. • What is a beta particle? Questions • What is the charge of a beta particle? • How fast does it travel? • Explain why it does not ionise very strongly. • What is a gamma ray? • What is the charge on a gamma ray? • What is the speed of a gamma ray? • What stops an alpha particle, a beta particle and a gamma ray?