![]() All elements heavier than bismuth are radioactive. Bismuth is the heaviest element with at least one stable isotope.The half-life of carbon-14 is used in carbon dating to determine the age of fossils.It is thought to be the second leading cause of lung cancer. Uranium in the ground can decay into radon gas which can be very dangerous to humans.These include X-rays, medicine, carbon dating, energy generation, and to kill germs. The more radiation a person is exposed to, the more dangerous it is.ĭespite the risks, there are a number of good ways that science has used radiation. Radiation can alter the structure of cells in our bodies causing mutations which can produce cancer. It finally ends up as a stable isotope as the element lead. As it decays, it transforms through a number of elements including thorium, radium, francium, radon, polonium, and bismuth. This can happen continuously in a long radioactive chain.Īn example of a radioactive chain is uranium-238. Sometimes isotopes decay from one unstable isotope into another unstable isotope. electrons and protons) and turn from one element into another. When isotopes decay they can lose some of their atomic particles (i.e. It is just what will happen on average over the course of billions and billions of atoms. This is not a guarantee for one specific sample. In the example above, 500 atoms are "expected" to decay. The thing to remember about half-life is that it is a probability. Some of the atoms may decay right away, while others will not decay for many thousands more years. This means that if you have a sample of carbon-14 with 1,000 atoms, 500 of these atoms are expected to decay over the course of 5730 years. The half-life of an isotope is the time on average that it takes for half of the atoms in a sample to decay.įor example, the half-life of carbon-14 is 5730 years. The curie was named after Marie and Pierre Curie who discovered the element radium. The curie measures how many atoms spontaneously decay each second. Radioactivity is measured using a unit called the "curie". In this case gamma particles with no overall charge are emitted from the element. Gamma decay - Gamma decay occurs when there is too much energy in the nucleus.In this case the element will emit radiation in the form of negatively charged particles called beta particles. Beta decay - Beta decay is caused when there are too many neutrons in a nucleus.In this case the element will emit radiation in the form of positively charged particles called alpha particles. Alpha decay - Alpha decay is caused when there are too many protons in a nucleus.There are three main types of radiation or radioactive decay depending on the isotope. ![]() When isotopes are unstable they emit energy in the form of radiation. You can go here to learn more about isotopes. These isotopes are called radioactive isotopes. These are the elements that we see around us and find in nature. Isotopes are atoms with the same number of protons and electrons, but a different number of neutrons. Elements can be made up of different isotopes.
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