Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

environmental radioactivity > Radiation, nuclear stability and detection (1,2,3) > Flashcards

Radiation, nuclear stability and detection (1,2,3) Flashcards

1
Q

uk net zero by

A

2050

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

fission supplies how much of baseline electricity in uk

A

16-20% (but lots of these reactors are going to be decomitioned by 2036)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

fusion

A

controlled use of nuclear fusion to release energy for work -haven’t harness this process yet

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

nuclear process

A

heat chain reaction, which boils water and stream push turbine
baseline energy (consistent, doesn’t turn on and off quickly)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Fission power

A

controlled use of nuclear fission (atomic splitting) to release energy for work

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

nuclear limiting issues

A

health risks, security (terrorism), cost, radioactive waste disposal, reactor saftey

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

chernobyl disaster year

A

1986

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Fukushima disaster year

A

2011

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

lecture 2 electrons (wieght &charge)

A

light
negative charge

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

protons (wieght &charge)

A

positive
mass similar to neutrons

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

neutrons (wieght &charge)

A

same mass as proton
no charge, no electrostatic repulsion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

is radioactive decay influenced by environment?

A

no

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

radioactive decay nucleus

A

nucleus configuration not stable so rearranges by kicking out a particle
random for individual atom

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

do Nuclei with>83 protons tend to be stable or unstable?

A

unstable and have many isotopes
needs more neutrons than protons to be stable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

nucleus stability balance between

A

the Coulombic repulsions and short-range attractions that exist
between component neutrons and protons

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

the nucleus will be stable if…

A

the attractive forces within the nucleus balance or outweigh
repulsive forces

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

the nucleus will be unstable if…

A

the repulsive forces outweigh the attractive forces,
then the nucleus loses stability and will spontaneously disintegrate,
emitting particles and/or electromagnetic radiation.
This is the phenomenon of
radioactivity.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

ionising radiation process

A

interact with matter, ionise the particle by generating a free radical
UV x-ray gamma ray

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

alpha

A

greatest mass
easily stopped (sheet of paper)
only bad if inside you
minus 4 mass no
minus 2 atomic no (bottom)

20
Q

beta

A

high speed electron
6mm of aluminium stops it
plus 1 atomic no (bottom)
co-product of beta decay-neutrino

21
Q

gamma rays

A

short wavelength, hard to stop,
by product of a lot of radioactive decay
only stopped by dense metals

22
Q

positron emission

A

minus 1 from atomic no
oposite of beta

23
Q

electron capture

A

nucleus captures an electron
converts proton to neutron
release of gamma
no of protons decreases and neutrons increases by one

24
Q

Rutherford-Soddy rule

A

sum of the mass numbers and charges before and after the radioactive decay are the same
nucleus plus something else

25
Q

sources of radiation

A

1/4 of daily is you
banana
mostly-rocks, soil, gas, cosmic rad

26
Q

Ur (decay chain)

A

first decay has really long half life, then the rest of the decay chain is faster

27
Q

uranium is a big mineral

A

doesn’t move via diffusion
if the daughters diffuse out of the rock it can tell you about an environmental event as the atomic clock has been reset

28
Q

lead Pb

A

end of Ur decay series, stable, can help date rocks

29
Q

Fission track analysis

A

done for large minerals
atom of U-238 disintegrates emitting an alpha particle, a Helium nucleus (He-4). This massive atomic particle causes massive structural damage in the crystal that can be revealed by chemical etching.
The number of tracks in a given area is proportional to the age of the mineral.

30
Q

Dating metamorphic events

A

redistribute daughter atom and isotopically reset the date of that rock
can tell you when granite protruded

31
Q

difference between nuclear reactions and radioactive decay

A

nuclear reactions are instigated but radioactive decay is natural and random

32
Q

fusion

A

joining of two nuclei at extremely high temperature and pressure,
and is the process responsible for the energy of the sun and other stars

33
Q

fission

A

splitting of a large nucleus into smaller pieces

34
Q

carbon 14 is created in the

A

upper atmosphere
through interactions w cosmic particles and CO2 or nitrogen
plants will use it and become radioactive

35
Q

fertile

A

won’t fission but will take a neutron and then will potentially fission later

36
Q

can fissile fission?

A

yes

37
Q

most of U found in ground is

A

238 U
which is fertile

38
Q

neutron capture instigates…

A

fission of the nucleus
causing it to split into 2 fission nuclei, 2-3 free neutrons and release energy
neutrons fly out too fast to cause another fission reaction so we slow them down -chain reaction

39
Q

speed of neutron

A

*A slow neutron may induce fission in one type of nucleus (U-235) and not
others (U-238).
*Too fast and it spends too little time near a nucleus for capture to be likely
*Fast neutrons can disrupt U-238 causing ‘transmutation’ into U-239

40
Q

moderation of chain reactions

A

free neutrons slowed by inelastic collisions w particles of similar mass
hydrogen nuclei- efficient moderators so h2o often used
D2o -heavy water

When fully moderated, neutrons have energies corresponding to the
temperature of their surroundings, and are referred to as ‘thermal’ neutrons

41
Q

lifetime supply of fuel (oil and U)

A

1000 Olympic swimming pools worth of oil
a thimble of uranium

42
Q

what makes fusion viable

A

Tritium to fuel the process
not enough and short half life
can take lithium and make tritium but supply from unstable countries

43
Q

does fusion or fission have less issues

A

fusion (could be safer)

44
Q

fusion in stars

A

hot and dense
For elements lighter than iron (Fe), the fusion process liberates energy.
The fusion of elements heavier than iron consumes energy rather than liberates it

45
Q

Blocking temperatures in minerals

A

the processes that result in a “resetting” of the atomic clocks in a rock.
it is possible to heat igneous and metamorphic rocks to high enough temperatures that they no longer
behave as “closed systems”.
daughter products can “leak” out of the primary mineral (diffusional
migration), giving an erroneous parent/daughter ratio and
hence a wrong age

environmental radioactivity (7 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions