RADIOACTIVITY, NUCLEAR

ENERGY, SOLAR ENERGY

 Nuclear Chemistry
• The study of the properties and changes
(reactions) that take place in atomic nuclei.
• Isotopes have the same Z but different
number of neutrons; i.e. different mass
number
• Carbon has 13 isotopes
• C-12 has 6 p+, 6 n0 and 6 e-; stable
• C-13 has 6 p+, 7 n0 and 6 e- ; stable
• C-14 has 6 p+, 8 n0 and 6 e- ; unstable
 Radioactive Elements
• Elements that are unstable and that decompose
spontaneously.
• All elements have at least one radioactive
isotope. Elements with Z > 83 are radioactive.
• The decomposition products are
– other elements - stable or radioactive
– high energy particles – alpha, beta, gamma
• During these decompositions, mass and charge
must be conserved.
 Alpha Particles (α)
• Review definition of isotope, Z, mass
number, structure of atom
• α = nucleus of He or 42He with charge = +2
and mass number = 4 = 2 n0 + 2 p+
• Ex 17.2a 239 Pu  235 U + 4 He
94 92 2
• Ex 17.2c 179 Au  175 Ir + 4 He
79 77 2
• State Z (#p+), #n0 for each species in eqn.
• Note that Z of product element decreases
 Beta Particles (β)
• β = electron with charge = -1 and
negligible mass
• Produced when neutron splits
– neutron  proton + electron
• 14 C  14 N + 0 e
6 7 -1
• 99 Mo  99 Tc + 0 e
42 43 -1
• State Z (#p+), #n0, #e-1
• Note that Z of product element increases
 Gamma Emission (γ)
• γ = gamma ray = light or photon with no
mass and no charge
• High energy photons
 Summary
Particle Symbol Change Change Change
in Z in mass in #n0
number
Alpha α, 4 He
2 -2 -4 -2

Beta β, 0
-1e +1 0 -1

Gamma γ, 0 γ
0 0 0 0
 What α, β, γ Emissions Do
• These radioactive byproducts are emitted at very
high energies.
• These energies can be high enough to
– break chemical bonds and ionize atoms and
molecules.
– produce free radicals that can damage DNA, proteins
– damage tissue if the radioactive element is ingested
– cause cell mutations
– kill cells
 Radioactive Decay
• As mentioned before, radioactive atoms
are unstable and decay spontaneously.
• Some atoms decay over a long period of
time (billions of years) and others over a
short period of time (fractions of seconds)
• One radioactive atom may decay to
another which then decays to another
 Radioisotope Half-Life, τ1/2

• Half-life is the time it takes for half of the

atoms in a radioactive sample to decay.
• The longer the half-life, the longer the
radioactive isotope exists and the longer
its potential danger exists.
• Problem: After 6 hr, 25 mg remain. After
12 hr, 12.5 mg remain. After 18 hr, 6.25
mg remain. After 24 hr, 3.125 mg remain.
After 48 hr, 0.20 mg remain.
 Uses of Radioisotopes
Radio Symbol Prod Half-life Use
isotope
Tritium 3
1H β 12.33 yr Biochemistry
tracer
C-14 14
6C β 5730 yr C-dating
P-32 32
15P β 14 days Leukemia
therapy
Co-60 60
27Co β 5.27 yr Cancer therapy

I-123 53I γ 13.27 hr Thyroid therapy

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 Nuclear and Chemical Reactions
A Comparison
Reactant atoms ≠ product Conservation of atom
atoms identities
Different isotopes may Different isotopes may
have diff nuclear have the same chemical
properties properties
Rate of nuclear reaction ≠ Rate of chemical reaction
f(T, P, catalyst) = f(T, P, catalyst)
Nuclear reaction ≠ Chemical reaction =
f(atom’s environment, f(atom’s environment,
phase) phase)
Energy changes: 1 g U- 1 g methane burns to
235 releases 8.2E+7 kJ produce 56 kJ