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

Question 1

uk net zero by

Answer 1

2050

Question 2

fission supplies how much of baseline electricity in uk

Answer 2

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

Question 3

fusion

Answer 3

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

Question 4

nuclear process

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Fission power

Answer 5

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

Question 6

nuclear limiting issues

Answer 6

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

Question 7

chernobyl disaster year

Answer 7

1986

Question 8

Fukushima disaster year

Answer 8

2011

Question 9

lecture 2 electrons (wieght &charge)

Answer 9

light
negative charge

Question 10

protons (wieght &charge)

Answer 10

positive
mass similar to neutrons

Question 11

neutrons (wieght &charge)

Answer 11

same mass as proton
no charge, no electrostatic repulsion

Question 12

is radioactive decay influenced by environment?

Answer 12

no

Question 13

radioactive decay nucleus

Answer 13

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

Question 14

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

Answer 14

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

Question 15

nucleus stability balance between

Answer 15

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

Question 16

the nucleus will be stable if…

Answer 16

the attractive forces within the nucleus balance or outweigh
repulsive forces

Question 17

the nucleus will be unstable if…

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

ionising radiation process

Answer 18

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

Question 19

alpha

Answer 19

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

Question 20

beta

Answer 20

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

Question 21

gamma rays

Answer 21

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

Question 22

positron emission

Answer 22

minus 1 from atomic no
oposite of beta

Question 23

electron capture

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Rutherford-Soddy rule

Answer 24

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

Question 25

sources of radiation

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Ur (decay chain)

Answer 26

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

Question 27

uranium is a big mineral

Answer 27

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

Question 28

lead Pb

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Fission track analysis

Answer 29

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.

Question 30

Dating metamorphic events

Answer 30

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

Question 31

difference between nuclear reactions and radioactive decay

Answer 31

nuclear reactions are instigated but radioactive decay is natural and random

Question 32

fusion

Answer 32

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

Question 33

fission

Answer 33

splitting of a large nucleus into smaller pieces

Question 34

carbon 14 is created in the

Answer 34

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

Question 35

fertile

Answer 35

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

Question 36

can fissile fission?

Answer 36

yes

Question 37

most of U found in ground is

Answer 37

238 U which is fertile

Question 38

neutron capture instigates...

Answer 38

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

Question 39

speed of neutron

Answer 39

*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

Question 40

moderation of chain reactions

Answer 40

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

Question 41

lifetime supply of fuel (oil and U)

Answer 41

1000 Olympic swimming pools worth of oil a thimble of uranium

Question 42

what makes fusion viable

Answer 42

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

Question 43

does fusion or fission have less issues

Answer 43

fusion (could be safer)

Question 44

fusion in stars

Answer 44

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

Question 45

Blocking temperatures in minerals

Answer 45

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