Radioactivity

Henri Becquerel
discovers
radioactivity
Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity in 1896.
Fortunately, he kept a detailed diary of his experiments.
This shows that the frequent claim that his discovery
was a chance event misrepresents his systematic
approach to experimentation.

One approach to this topic might be to act out

Becquerel’s sequence of experiments, with lumps of
(non-radioactive) rocks and ready-made ‘photographic
films’ to show his results. His diary entries would act as
a script.
Phosphorescence
Becquerel was interested in phosphorescence. After exposure to visible light (or other radiation), some materials
glow. The glowing fades gradually. His father and grandfather had both worked in this field since the 1830s.

Henri had some crystals of substances containing uranium. They glowed in the dark, without showing signs of
fading.

Question: How do ‘glow-in-the-dark’ stars work?

Answer: Stick them to a bedroom ceiling; during the day, they are exposed to light. At night, they glow. Their
brightness decreases over time.

Experiment: In a darkened room, show how a cathode ray tube screen (TV or oscilloscope) fades after switching
off.

Question: Sketch a graph to represent this.

Answer: An exponential decay graph.

Question: Use ideas about energy to describe what is going on.

Answer: Radiation (light, electron beams, etc.) transfers energy to the material. The energy is stored, and
released more and more slowly. Of course, the energy is being released even during the irradiation; the material
doesn’t wait until dark before starting to glow, but you cannot see it in daylight.
 Becquerel’s first experiment – 24
February 1896
I took two crystals of potassium uranium
sulfate and left them in the sunlight for
several hours. Then I placed them, with a
coin, on top of a photographic plate. My
prediction was that the plate would be
blackened by the light from the glowing
salts. The coin would block the light from
part of the plate.

When I developed the plate, I could see the

outline of the crystals and the shadow of
the coin. My prediction has been proved
correct.

I was worried that perhaps chemicals from

the uranium had been affecting the plate.
Accordingly, I repeated the experiment, this
Becquerel’s second experiment – 26-
27 February 1896
I wanted to repeat my experiment with the uranium
salts. I set the crystals on fresh photographic plates In popular accounts
by the window, but it was a dull day. No sunshine. I of Becquerel’s work,
put the plate away, and tried again the next day. it is often suggested
Still no sunshine. that he
On 1 March, I decided to develop these plates, unaccountably
expecting to find the images very feeble. On the developed some
contrary, the plates were blackened with great plates which had
intensity. been left in a drawer
with uranium-
This made me think that the crystals might be able
to affect the plates without exposure to sunlight. containing rocks.
Perhaps the action could even take place in There was an
darkness. This gave me an idea for another element of luck in
experiment. his discovery, but
each step in his
work is logical and
understandable. By
this stage,
 Becquerel’s third experiment – 1
March 1896
I took several photographic plates and several crystals of
uranium salts. I placed one crystal directly on a
photographic plate; a second I placed with a sheet of glass
between it and the plate; a third I placed on a thin aluminium X-rays had been
sheet on top of the plate. discovered in 1895
I then placed all three in the dark for several hours. When I by Wilhelm
developed the plates, I found these results: Röntgen. They had
been exploited very
The first plate, where the crystal was in direct contact with rapidly. Invisible
the plate, showed strong blackening. radiations were
The second plate showed slightly weaker blackening.
The third plate showed blackening which was much weaker, suddenly of great
but nevertheless very clear. interest. This greatly
encouraged
I am now convinced that uranium salts produce invisible Becquerel to press
radiation, even when they have been kept in the dark. They
on with his work.
do not need to be exposed to sunlight to produce this effect.
Question: What other invisible radiations were
known in 1896? Which have been discovered
since?
X-rays had been
Answer: Infra-red, ultraviolet, discovered in 1895
radio waves, X-rays. Later: by Wilhelm
Röntgen. They had
Alpha, beta, gamma, been exploited very
microwaves. rapidly. Invisible
radiations were
suddenly of great
interest. This greatly
encouraged
Becquerel to press
on with his work.
Becquerel’s fourth experiment – 9 March 1896

I have kept uranium crystals

in the dark for 160 hours.
There is no sign of any
decrease in the intensity of
the radiation which they
produce.
Further experiments

Becquerel went on to investigate a number of uranium

compounds, as crystals, liquids and solutions. All produced
invisible radiation, suggesting that it was the presence of
uranium which was necessary to produce the effects
observed. Metallic uranium had the greatest effect.

He also showed that the radiation removed the charge on a

body charged with static electricity.
Further experiments

The idea that an element such as uranium can produce

radiation continuously, without any obvious source, is a
hard one to accept – it appears to break the principle of
conservation of energy (see guidance note on this).
(Phosphorescence, on the other hand, clearly does not, as
exposure to sunlight is needed to ‘charge up’ a
phosphorescent material.) However, Becquerel’s
experiments convinced him that he had indeed observed a
radically-different phenomenon.
Question: Compare the phenomena of phosphorescence and
radioactivity. What are their similarities and differences?

Answer:

Similarities: Release of radiation, decay over time (although

Becquerel couldn’t observe this with uranium).

Differences: Phosphorescent materials produce visible radiation

and need 'charging up'; radioactive materials produce invisible
radiation and do it spontaneously.
Other experiments

Around the same time, in the USA, Sylvanus P

Thompson noticed that uranium salts blackened
photographic plates. In Scotland, Lord Kelvin
reported that uranium could discharge static
electricity. However, neither carried out a
systematic study like that of Becquerel, which is
why he is credited with the discovery of
radioactivity.
 On the evening of 1st March 1896, Becquerel gave his
first report to a meeting of colleagues in Paris. At the
same time, Kelvin was reporting his findings to a meeting
in Edinburgh. Scientists rarely work in isolation on a topic
which only they are interested in. There is often a tension
between reporting in public on what you have discovered
(which may help your competitors), and keeping your
findings secret (which may mean that they get their report
out first, and can then claim the credit).
Nuclear Radiation

• Nuclear chemistry
• study of the structure of atomic nuclei
• changes they undergo.
The Discovery of Radioactivity

• Wilhelm Roentgen (1845–1923)

• 1895-invisible rays were emitted when
electrons bombarded the surface of
certain materials.
• caused photographic plates to darken.
• named the invisible high-energy
emissions X rays.
The Discovery of Radioactivity
• Henri Becquerel (1852–1908) was
studying phosphorescence
• minerals that emit light after being
exposed to sunlight
•phosphorescent
uranium salts
produced
spontaneous
emissions that
darkened
photographic plates.
The Discovery of Radioactivity
• Marie Curie (1867–1934)
and her husband Pierre
(1859–1906) took
Becquerel’s mineral
sample (called
pitchblende) and isolated
the components emitting
the rays.

• darkening of the photographic plates

was due to rays emitted specifically from
the uranium atoms present in the mineral
sample.
The Discovery of Radioactivity

• Marie Curie named the process by

which materials give off such rays
radioactivity
• the rays and particles emitted by a
radioactive source are called
radiation.
Types of Radiation
• isotopes are atoms of the same
element that have different numbers of
neutrons.
• Isotopes of atoms with unstable nuclei
are called radioisotopes
• emit radiation to attain more stable
atomic configurations in a process
called radioactive decay
• lose energy by emitting one of several
types of radiation.
 Why do some atoms decay?
• The nucleus contains tightly packed
protons and neutrons (nucleons)
• The strong nuclear force keeps the
nucleons packed together even though
protons want to push each other away
• Stable atoms have a neutron to proton
ratio of about 1:1
• As atomic number increases, more
neutrons are required to have enough of a
strong force to keep the protons pushed
together
• The neutron to proton ratio for stable
atoms increases to 1.5:1
 Band of Stability
• When the number of
protons and neutrons are
plotted, the stable nuclei
are found within the “band
of stability”
• Radioactive isotopes are
outside the band of
stability
– They will undergo nuclear
reactions to become more
stable
– All elements higher than
atomic# 83 are radioactive
 Basic Assessment Questions
Topic
26 Question 3
Calculate the neutron-to-proton ratio for .
 Types of Nuclear Radiation
• Alpha
• Beta
• Gamma
 Alpha Radiation
• Release of 2 protons and 2 neutrons
– Equivalent to a He nucleus
– Charge of 2+
– Mass = 4 amu
• Largest and slowest
– Least penetrating  can be stopped by paper
• Changes to a different element with a lower
atomic mass and lower atomic number
• Example: Polonium-212 (atomic# 84) is
converted to Lead-208 (atomic# 82)
 Beta Radiation
• Decay of a neutron into a proton and
electron
– Electron is emitted, proton stays
– Forms a new element b/c of addition of proton
• Decay of the proton into a neutron and
positron (like a positive electron)
– The positron is emitted as a beta particle
• Faster than alpha particles  can be
stopped by aluminum foil
 Gamma Radiation
• Not a particle
• Electromagnetic wave with short
wavelength and high frequency & energy
• No mass, no charge
• Very fast  speed of light
• Stronger than X-ray
• Stopped by several centimeters of lead
• Transmutation: changing one element into
another through radioactive decay
– Adding or removing a proton changes the
atomic number, resulting in a different element
• Half-Life: amount of time for half of a
sample of a radioactive element to decay
into something else
– Can range from a fraction of a second to
billions of years
– Amount remaining=initial amount(1/2)t/T
• t=total time
• T=half-life
 Half-life

1 n
mf  m ( ) i 2

mf: final mass

mi: initial mass
n: # of half-lives
 Half-life
• Fluorine-21 has a half-life of 5.0 seconds. If you
start with 25 g of fluorine-21, how many grams
would remain after 60.0 s?
 Nuclear Decay
• Alpha Emission
238 234 4
92 U 90Th  He 2

parent daughter alpha

nuclide nuclide particle
Numbers must balance!!
 Nuclear Decay
• Beta Emission
131 131 0
53 I 54 Xe  e
-1

electron
• Positron Emission
38 38 0
19 K  Ar  e
18 1

positron
 Nuclear Decay
• Electron Capture
106 0 106
47 Ag  e  -1 46 Pd
electron
• Gamma Emission
– Usually follows other types of decay.
 Types of Transmutation
• Induced transmutation
– Nucleus of an unstable isotope (radionuclide)
is struck with a high velocity charged particle
• Particle accelerator
• Need lots of energy and unstable nucleus
– Elements atomic 93 and higher (transuranium
elements)
• Natural transmutation
– Occurs naturally as a radioisotope decays to
become more stable
 Basic Assessment Questions
Topic
26 Question 1
What element is formed when polonium-214
( ) radioisotope undergoes alpha decay?
Give the atomic number and mass number
of the element.
 Basic Assessment Questions
Topic
26 Question 2
What element is formed when undergoes
beta decay? Give the atomic number and mass
number of the element.
 Basic Assessment Questions
Topic
26 Question 4
Write a balanced nuclear equation for the
beta decay of the following radioisotope.
 Nuclear Fission
• Fission = divide
• Neutron hits an unstable atom
• Nucleus splits into two fragments of about
the same mass
– Some single neutrons are released (energy)
– These neutrons can smash into other atoms
• Causes a chain reaction
Fission Reaction
 Nuclear reactors

• Nuclear power plants use

the process of nuclear
fission to produce heat in
nuclear reactors.

• The heat is used to

generate steam, which is
then used to drive turbines
that produce electricity.
Atomic Bomb- uncontrolled fission reactions
• Little Boy: $2billion in research; made of
Uranium-235; equal to 20,000 tons of TNT;
140,000 people died; 2/3 of the city destroyed
• Fat Man: Plutonium-239; 70,000 people died;
40% of the city destroyed
 Hydrogen Bomb
• 1000 times more powerful than atomic
bomb
• March 1, 1954; Bikini Atoll in Pacific
– Never in war
• Fission reaction triggers fusion of
Hydrogen isotopes
 Nuclear Fusion
• Opposite of fission
• Two nuclei fuse together to form one
nucleus with a larger mass
– Not simple sum of masses
– Some mass lost as energy
• Requires high temperature:
Thermonuclear reaction
• Occurs in the sun and stars
– 4 H combine to form one He, 2e- and energy
Nuclear Fusion
Solar Flare
 Radiation Detectors
• Cloud Chamber
– supersaturated water or ethanol
– radioactive particle flows through
and knocks e- off
– vapor condenses showing path
– alpha: short/thick trails; beta:
long/thin
• Bubble Chamber
– superheated liquid
– e- knocked off again
– bubbles are formed
Measuring Radiation
• Geiger Counter
– produces electric
current when near
radiation
– Results in clicks or a
digital reading
 Using Nuclear Reactions in
Medicine
• Tracers: monitor body
processes
– Iodine-131
• emits beta particles
• used to detect tumors
in thyroid gland
– also used: Carbon-11
and Sodium -24
• Cancer Treatment
• damage cancer cells
• Gold -198 or Iridium -192 -- implanted in or
near tumor
• Cobalt-60
– outside body
– emits gamma rays
• Positron Emission
Tomography (PET)
– Fluorine-18 attached to
molecules that go to brain
– positrons are emitted and collide
with electrons forming 2 gamma
rays
– the gamma rays are detected
and indicate brain activity
• http://www.hpwt.de/Kern2e.htm
• http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/isot
opes/radioactive_decay3.html
• http://www.msd.k12.or.us/schools/mhs/pro
jects/Fission/frames.html
• http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/
experience/the.bomb/history.science/