Uses of Radioactive Isotopes
radioactive Isotopes have a variety of uses and vrious uses of radioactive isotopes of the elements are added below,
Uses of Radioactive Isotopes in Medicine
Cobalt-60 is a radiation source used in cancer treatment to decrease the growth of the disease. Other radioactive isotopes are used as tracers in metabolic research and diagnostics. Carbon-14 is used in a breath test to detect the ulcer-causing bacteria Helicobacter pylori.
Uses of Radioactive Isotopes in Industry
In industry, radioactive isotopes are used to determine the thickness of metal or plastic sheets, with the strength of the radiations that penetrate the substance being studied revealing the precise thickness. They can also be used to generate modest amounts of electricity. One example is the use of Plutonium-238 in spacecraft.
Other uses of the radioactive isotopes are,
- D2O (D denotes deuterium) is called heavy water and is used as a neutron moderator in nuclear reactors.
- Carbon-14 is also radioactive and is used in carbon dating (carbon dating is an archaeological technique of determining the age of fossils).
Various uses of some radioactive isotopes are added in the table added below,
Radioisotopes |
Half-Life |
Usage |
---|---|---|
Manganese-54 |
312 Days |
It track heavy metals from mining waste |
Cobalt-60 |
5 Years |
It is used to sterlize equipments |
Krypton-85 |
10 Years |
Uses in Indicator lights of appliance. |
Thallium-204 |
12 Days |
Used in testing of pollutant levels |
Iridium-192 |
74 Days |
Used in Metal Radiography |
Radioactive Isotopes
Radioactive Isotopes or Radioisotopes are the isotopes of the elements that are not stable, i.e. they emit some radiation and change the composition of their nucleus. Radioactive isotopes are defined as the isotopes of any chemical element that have different masses and unstable nuclei and release energy by spontaneously emitting radiation in the form of alpha rays, beta rays, and gamma rays. This property of some nuclei to emit energy as alpha, beta, and gamma rays is called radioactivity, and the isotopes of the elements that show radioactivity are called radioisotopes or radioactive isotopes.
In this article, we will learn about Isotope definition, Radioactive Isotopes, Uses of Radioactive Isotopes, and others in detail.
Table of Content
- Isotopes Definition
- Radioactive Isotopes Definition
- Laws of Radioactivity
- Uses of Radioactive Isotopes
- What is Radioactivity?
- Types of Radioactivity