RADIOACTIVITY

THE STUDY OF A UNIQUE SCIENCE… -AKSHITA PODDAR

 WHAT IS RADIOACTIVITY?

IN SIMPLE WORDS…
 Radioactivity is a phenomena or property possessed by several elements as
well as isotopes which is “spontaneously” emitting charged particles such as
electrons and alpha particles due to a nuclear reaction or disintegration of the
atoms present in the nuclei.
 It can also be defined as an emission of these particles from different elements
due a nuclear reaction. The emissions are known as radiation.

 Some radioactive substances are:

 Uranium
 Radium
 Thorium
 Plutonium and many more.
 WHAT IS HALF LIFE?

Importance of half life:

 It helps in dating of artifacts or carbon

Half life of a substance (radioactive) is the time taken by half of its
dating total atoms to decay or to fall by half. This is the definition for
 It helps doctors use safe radioactive radioactive elements only. It was first used as a term when the
tracers atoms present in a radioactive substance decreased over time.
 It tells us what radioactive substance
is safe to use.
We use half life because radioactivity is extremely unpredictable
and knowing what will happen next is not possible. Half-life tells us
about which radioactive elements are safe to use. Shorter half life
does not injure healthy cells and organs.

Half life of different substances:


Iodine = 8.1 days

Radium = 1600 years

Francium=22 minutes

Meitnerium = 8 seconds

Bismuth = 2.01×1019 years
 HARMFUL EFFECTS OF RADIOACTIVITY

Radiations given out of radioactive substances have extremely harmful effects on our
health. It can break chemical bounds in our skin, affect our DNA and cells and cause
cancer as well. It can also lead to death in extreme cases(radiation syndrome caused
by high exposure).It can cause cardiovascular issues as well as burn and scar you.
 Becquerel ,who found out about radioactivity died 12 years later after his discovery
due to scars and burns and Marie Curie died due to leukemia. Both of them were
people who conducted research on radioactivity.
 Radioactivity has also been used in nuclear power generation, so many a times it
has been used in not only attacks like Hiroshima-Nagasaki but also leads to
accidental disasters due to leaks such as the Chernobyl disaster. It is also not a clean
method as a lot of radioactive waste is produced which can again harm and cause
problems.
 FUN FACTS ON RADIOACTIVITY

Chernobyl's power plant is still emitting radiation. If the containment

structure collapses, which is possible, more radioactive emissions will leak
out.

NYC's Grand Central Station was made with a huge amount of granite,
which emits radiation. There is more radiation in the station than a nuclear
power plant would allow.

There are radioactive isotopes in cigarette smoke. A smoker receives the

equivalent of 300 chest x-rays every year. This is due to the fertilizer
chemicals used to grow tobacco.

A man once drank 1,400 bottles a health tonic with radium in it. His jaw fell
off.

Flight attendants and pilots are exposed to so much radiation from flying
that they are considered radiation workers. They are exposed to more than
many who work at nuclear power plants.
 MODERN USES OF RADIOACTIVITY

 As harmful as they maybe, radioactive elements and radioactivity have a lot of uses
in the modern world. They are used in treatments, sterilization, study of organisms,
diagnosis and in industries .
Multiple Uses
 Nuclear Reactors. They are used to generate nuclear power by nuclear fission or
fusion(breaking of a nucleus into two nuclei). Uranium is mostly used in this
process. The steam that is generated from this process is used to move turbines
and provide electrical energy.

 Radiotherapy is used extensively in the medical field for treatment of several

diseases including cancer. These radiations kill the the specific cells.

 Radioactivity is used in medical x-rays as well as luggage x-rays that take place in
airports.
 It is also used in radiocarbon dating-which is to find the age of organic matter by
using the radioactive isotope of carbon(carbon-14).
 RADIO CARBON DATING

 Radio carbon dating is a method followed to find the age of a substance

or a body that contains organic matter by using the radioactive isotope
for carbon.
• It has been one of the biggest advancement in archaeology. It has helped
in several discoveries and knowing about changes in the environment as
well as culture. It has been used for dating fossils 50000 years old. Radio
carbon dating will work till organic matter is present and works anywhere
in the world.
• This technique won Willard Libby the Nobel prize in 1960 and helped get
to know the age of the mummies, where the oldest Quran was found and
form chronological orders about periods and times that historians and
archaeologists had less information on.
 HOW DOES RADIOCARBON DATING WORK

To know how old fossils are ,scientists can compare the ratio of two different
types of carbon atoms.-carbon 12 and carbon 14 as everything is made of
carbon.
 Carbon mostly consists of 6 protons and 6 neutrons, This is commonly
known and called carbon 12.
 High up in the atmosphere ,when cosmic rays hit nitrogen atoms. This forms
a different type of carbon that has 6 protons and 8 neutrons. This is carbon
14.This is similar to carbon-12 but it is unique. It is not stable in nature.
 Therefore when a animal dies, the carbon 14 slowly leaves its body.
Approximately every 573o years the carbon-14 decays into nitrogen by half.
This is its half life .Every 5730 years it decreases by half while the carbon-12
remains constant.
 The age of the fossil can be recovered by comparing the ratio of these two
types of carbons present in the body. It works for fossils up to 60000 years
ago.
 For older fossils, scientists use radioactive materials which have a larger
half-life
This is the detailed process of radio
carbon dating , that is followed
during excavating and determining
the age of organic matter . As done
by archaeologists all over the world
to find the age of fossils and bodies.

But due to the increase in the levels

of organic matter or carbon in the
atmosphere the accuracy of this
technique decreases. Fossil fuels or
extensive amount of carbon actually
changes the radioactive age of the
organic material which is relatively
newer and confuses it with older
material.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 http://www.chernobylgallery.com/chernobyl-disaster/radiation-levels/ 31st MAY,2020-12 PM

 https://cosmosmagazine.com/physics/what-is-radioactivity 31st MAY ,2020-12:35 PM
 https://www.thoughtco.com/list-of-radioactive-elements-608644 . 31ST MAY, 2020-1:15 PM
 https://www.softschools.com/facts/energy/radiation_facts/3207/ . 31ST MAY,2020-1:45 PM
 https://www.nde-ed.org/EducationResources/HighSchool/Radiography/halflife2. htm.
31ST. MAY,2020-3:25 PM
 https://www.nde-ed.org/EducationResources/HighSchool/Radiography/usesradioactivity.htm.
31ST MAY,2020-4:15 PM
 https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-radiocarbon-dating-and-how-does-it-work-9690
31ST MAY 2020-5:30 PM
 https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=24000 31ST MAY 2020 – 5:55 PM
 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/carbon-dating-crucial-scientific-technique-je
opardy-thanks-our-pollution-heres-easy-way-fix-it-180961345/
32ST MAY 2020- 7:30 PM
 https://youtu.be/phZeE7Att_s. 31ST MAY 2020 – 8:25 PM.