Radioactivity Flashcards
Alpha
2 neutrinos 2 protons
Particles are slow and heavy
Extremely ionising
Paper
Beta
Fast moving electrons
Aluminium
Gamma
High frequency waves
Travel speed of light
Weakly ionising
Lead
Ionisation
Addiction or removal of an electron from an atom
Ionisation on aneutral atom
Turn a neutrally charged atom positively (removing electrons) or negatively (adding electrons) charged.
Activity
The number of nuclear degradations per second
Absorbed dose
The energy absorbed per unit mass of the absorbing material
Equivalent dose
Combines absorbed dose with the weighting factor to see potential harm that could be done by radiation
Weighting factor
Measure of all biological effects of readiation
Main causes of background radiation
Radon gas in rocks
Cosmic rays
Praucations when handling radioactive sources
Wear protective clothing
Keep a good distance
Reduce is exposure to radioactive sources
Shielding
Limiting time
Increase distance
Half life
Tome it takes for the activity of a source to half
Fission
Nuclear fission happens when the nucleus of an atom is split in two, creating two new smaller nuclei, neutrons, and a very large amount of energy.
When a neutron is used to start process it is called STIMULATED NUCLEAR FISSION. The emitted neutrons hit other nuclei causing them to split. If this process keeps going, a CHAIN REACTION releasing huge amounts of energy.
Fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process in which the nuclei of light elements combine, or fuse together. This releases very large amounts of energy.
Magnetic fields are used to contain the charged particles of the plasma in a doughnut shaped ring inside a vacuum chamber, called a Tokamak.
