Chapter 3- Nuclear chemistry Flashcards
The study of natural and artificially induced nuclear reactions and of the chemical reactions of radioactive substance.
Nuclear chemistry
A reaction in which changes occur in the nucleus of an atom.
Nuclear reaction
An atom with a specific atomic number and a specific mass number.
Nuclide
The penetrating rays and particles emited by a radioactive source.
Radiation
A substance like uranium that spontaneously give off radiation.
Radioactive
The emission of particles caused by the spontaneous disintegration of atomic nuclei.
Radioactivity
In 1895, He accidentally discovered an invisible radiation which is more penetrating than uv-rays that it emits.
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
Discovers natural radioactivity in 1896.
Henri Becquerel
She coined radioactivity. Curium was named after her and her husband.
Marie Curie
In 1899, he discovered alpha, beta and gamma radiation.
Earnest Rutherford
Have a very low penetrating power.
Alpha radiation
Have a slight penetrating power and can pass through a sheet of paper but can be stopped by heavy clothing.
Beta radiation
Most penetrating radiation, can pass through the body causing cellular damage
Gamma radiation
It is like a mirror image of beta decay. Something inside the nucleus of an atom breaks down, which causes a proton to become a neutron.
Positron decay
It is a nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus and one or more neutrons collide and merge to form a heavier nucleus.
Neutron capture
An electron from the closest energy level falls into the nucleus, which causes a proton to become a neutron.
Electron capture
Measures the number of particles or protons emerging per unit time.
Intensity- energy flux
Unit of radiation intensity.
1 Bq= 1 dps (disintegration per second)
1 Ci= 3.7x1010 dps
Measures the energy delivered by a radiation source or the amount of exposure of radiation.
1 R = 2.58x10-4 coulomb/kg
Roentgens (R)
Measure of the radiation absorbed from a radiation source.
Rads (radiation absorbed dose)
Measure the effect of the radiation when a person absorbs 1 roentgen.
Rems ( roentgen equivalent to man)
The goal is to create a useful picture of a target tissue.
Medical Imaging
Use of radioactive isotopes as tools for both diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
Nuclear medicine
Radioactive isotope is used for the selective destruction of pathological cells and tissues.
Radiation therapy
Burrowing nuclear waste into the ground to the point where it is out of human reach.
Geological Disposal
The process involves taking waste and separating the useful components from those that aren’t as useful.
Recover and reuse
Involves converting a chemical element into another less harmful one.
Transmutation
Spent fuels are stored underwater and in dry casks at power plants.
Storage
Putting nuclear waste on a space shuttle and launching the shuttle into space.
Space disposal
