DE Chemistry – King William High School
Radiation – small particles of energy that are spontaneously emitted from unstable nuclei that is radioactive Radioisotope – an isotope of an element that emits radiation Atomic number 93 and higher are man made and only have radioactive isotopes Radioactive isotopes are named by writing the mass number after the name (iodine-131)
An unstable nucleus becomes more stable by emitting radiation and forming a lower energy nucleus Alpha particle ( ) – helium nucleus 4 2 Beta particle ( ) – a high energy electron 0 -1 e or 0 -1 Positron – an unstable nucleus transforms a proton into a neutron and a positron ( 0 +1 )
A positron is an example antimatter Antimatter – a particle that is the opposite of another particle When a positron and electron collide their masses are converted to energy in the form of gamma ( ) rays Gamma rays – high energy radiation ( 0 0 )
Proton – hydrogen ( 1 1 H) Neutron ( 1 0 n)
Rapidly dividing cells are most susceptible to radiation (bone marrow, skin, reproductive organs and intestinal lining…and ALL cells in growing children) Cancer cells rapidly divide. That’s why we treat with radiation…radiation kills carcinoma at a faster rate than normal, healthy cells
Read radiation protection on page 137-8! Notes gamma rays are the most dangerous because they penetrate deeply
Radioactive decay – nucleus spontaneously breaks down by emitting radiation Alpha decay – unstable nucleus emits an alpha particle U Th He EX: Am He
Beta decay – breakdown of a neutron into a proton and electron 14 6 C 14 7 N e EX: Y e
Gamma decay is rare Example – technetium (Tc)…the unstable isotope if given the symbol m (metastable) 99m 43 Tc Tc
Usually produced in small amounts by converting stable (nonradioactive) nuclei into radioactive ones Transmutation – a stable nucleus is bombarded by high speed particles 4 2 He B 13 7 N n bombarding particle + stable nucleus radioactive isotope + neutron
Geiger counter – used to detect beta and gamma radiation Curie (Ci) – number of disintegrations of a substance per second SI unit is the becquerel (Bq) RAD (radiation absorbed dose) – the amount of radiation absorbed by a gram of material (i.e. body tissue) Read pages
Is the amount of time it takes for ½ of a sample to decay EX: a 20 mg sample of iodine-131 has a half- life of 8.0 days…how much is left after 32 days?
Read pages
Fission – energy created by splitting the atom (atomic energy) U n U Kr Ba n The mass of the products is less than the starting materials…the missing mass has been converted into BIG amounts of energy. Remember Einstein (E = mc 2 ) NOTE: 1 g U = 3 tons of coal
Look at visual on page 156
Two small nuclei combine to form a larger nucleus 3 1 H H 4 2 He n + energy EX: sun/stars constantly have fusion reactions occurring (producing heat and light)