Radioactivity

An atom consists of:

• A positively charged nucleus made of:
o Positive protons
o Neutral neutrons

• Surrounded by negatively charged electrons which orbit the nucleus

The radius of the nucleus is a lot smaller than the radius of the entire atom.
Almost all the mass of the atoms lies in the nucleus.

Particle Relative Mass Relative Charge

Proton 1 +1
Neutron 1 0
Electron 0.0005 -1

Atoms of the same element have the same number of protons. Isotopes
are forms of an element’s atom with the same number of protons but a
different number of neutrons.
For a given nuclide ZA𝑋:

• X is the symbol of the element

• A is the mass (nucleon) number (number of neutrons and protons)

• Z is the atomic (proton) number (number of protons)

Radioactivity:

Radioactive decay is the spontaneous emission of alpha, beta and gamma

radiation from unstable nucleus into a more stable one.

It is a random process which means what nucleus will decay and when it
will decay cannot be predicted.

Spontaneous: It is not affected by any external factor such as temperature,

pressure, density ect.
• Alpha particle

It consists of two protons and two neutrons

During alpha decay nucleon number decreased by 4 and
Proton number decreased by 2.

Reaction for alpha decay:

Properties of alpha particle

i) It is positively charged particles

ii) It has very low penetrating power

iii) It has very high ionizing effect

iv) Range of alpha particle through air is 6 cm to10 cm

• Beta particle
It is a fast moving electron emitted from radioactive nucleus.

During beta decay

Nucleon number remain same proton number increased by 1

Reaction for beta decay:

o A neutron turns into a proton and emits a beta particle (electron)

i)They are moderately ionising

ii) They are moderately penetrating.
iii)They can be stopped by a thin sheet of aluminium.
iv) It is negatively charged particle.

• Gamma:
o After a previous decay, a nucleus with excess energy emits a gamma
particle.

o Gamma radiation are a form of electromagnetic

radiation.
During gamma decay
Nucleon number remain same proton number also remain same
Properties of gamma radiation

i) They have very low ionising effect.

ii)They have very high penetrating power.
iii) They have no charge.
iv) They have no mass.
v)They can be stopped by thick lead.
vi) They have very high speed
• Neutron radiation: o In neutron-rich nuclides, occasionally one or more neutrons are ejected.
They are also emitted during nuclear fission.

• Photographic film: The more radiation absorbed by the film, the darker it
gets (the film is initially white).
o They are worn as badges by people who work with radiation, to check how much exposure
they have had.

• Geiger-Muller tube: o A Geiger-Muller tube is a tube which can detect

radiation.

o Each time it absorbs radiation, it transmits an electrical pulse to the

machine, which produces a clicking sound. The greater the frequency of
clicks, the more radiation present.

Background radiation - Weak radiation that can be detected from external

sources is called background radiation.

Background radiation must be subtracted from the activity.

Sources of background radiation include:

Cosmic ray from outer space:

Radon gas
Food and drink which is radioactive

Fallout from nuclear weapons testing

Nuclear power plants which produce radioactive waste

Activity

The activity of a radioactive source is the number of unstable nuclei decays

per second and is measured in becquerels (Bq ).
The activity of a radioactive source decreases over a period of time.

Half Life

The half-life of an isotope is the time taken for half of the unstable nuclei to
decay. It is different for different radioactive isotopes.

• In the graph, the count rate drops from 80 to 40 counts per minute in 2
days, which means the half-life is around 2 days.
• Background radiation must be subtracted before attempting to perform
half-life calculations

Uses of radioactivity:

• Industry

Smoke detectors

Long half-life alpha emitters are used in smoke detectors.

Alpha particles cause a current in the alarm.

If smoke enters the detector, some of the alpha particles are absorbed
and the current drops, triggering the alarm.

Thickness monitoring

Long half-life beta emitters can be used for thickness monitoring of

metal sheets.

A source and receiver are placed on either side of the sheet during its
production. If there is a drop or rise in the number of beta particles
detected, then the thickness of the sheet has changed and needs to be
adjusted.

• Medicine

Sterilisation of equipment

Gamma emitters are used to kill bacteria or parasites on equipment so

it is safe for operations.

o Diagnosis and treatment

 Short half-life gamma emitters such as technetium-99m are used as
tracers in medicine as they concentrate in certain parts of the body.

The half-life must be long enough for diagnostic procedures to be

performed, but short enough to not remain radioactive for too long.

Other gamma emitters such as cobalt-60 can be used to destroy

tumours with a high dose of radiation.

Contamination
Contamination occurs when a radioactive source has been introduced into or
onto an object. The contaminated object will be radioactive for as long as
the source is in or on it.

Irradiation

Irradiation occurs when an object is exposed to a radioactive source which is

outside the object. The irradiated object does not become radioactive.

Harmful effect

Exposure to radiation can destroy living cell membranes by ionisation,

causing the cells to die, or damage DNA which causes mutations that could
lead to cancer.

Safety measures include:

• Minimising the time of exposure to radiation, keeping as big a distance

from the radioactive source as possible, and using shielding against
radiation.
The radioactive source must be kept in lead box.

• Radioactive waste from nuclear reactors must be disposed of carefully,

usually by burying it in sealed drums deep underground and remotely
handling it.
Fission and fusion
Nuclear fission:

• The process of splitting a nucleus is called nuclear fission.

• When a uranium-235 nucleus absorbs a neutron, it splits into two

daughter nuclei and 3 neutrons are released, energy is released in the
process as kinetic energy of the fission products.
• The neutrons then can induce further fission events in a chain reaction by

striking other uranium-235 nuclei.

• In a nuclear reactor:

o Control rods (usually made of boron) are used to absorb neutrons and
keep the number of neutrons such that only one fission neutron per event
goes on to induce further fission.

o The moderator (graphite or water) slows down neutrons by collisions so

that they are moving slow enough to be absorbed by another uranium-235
nucleus.
o Outer shielding
The reactor core is a thick steel vessel which withstands the high pressures
and temperatures and absorbs some of the radiation. The whole core is
kept in a building with thick reinforced concrete walls that act as radiation
shields to absorb all the radiation that escapes the reactor

Nuclear fusion:

• The process of fusing two nuclei to form a larger nucleus is called nuclear
fusion.

• There is a loss of mass in the process, accompanied by a release of

energy.

• Nuclear fusion is how the sun and other stars release energy.

• Nuclear fusion does not happen at low temperatures and pressures

because the electrostatic repulsion of the protons is too great.

Motion in the universe

• The universe is a large collection of billions of galaxies.

• A galaxy is a large collection of billions of stars.

• Our solar system is in the Milky Way galaxy. • 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡=𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠×𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑
𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑊=𝑚𝑔

The gravitational field strength is the force per unit mass on a body in a gravitational field and is
measured in Newtons per kilogram (N/kg). It varies with the mass and size of the body and is
therefore different on other planets and the moon compared to the Earth.
Gravitational force enables the various bodies to orbit around others. For example:
• Moons orbit planets

o The orbits are slightly elliptical with near constant orbital speed

• Planets and comets orbit the Sun o The orbits of planets are slightly elliptical with near
constant orbital speed. The orbits of comets are highly elliptical with a greater orbital speed the
closer they are to the Sun.

• Artificial satellites orbit the Earth

The greater the orbital radius or the smaller the time period, the greater the orbital speed:

• 𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑=2×𝜋×𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 / 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑

𝑣=2𝜋𝑟/𝑇
Stellar evolution
• A star begins as a cloud of gas called a nebula. The particles experience a weak attraction
towards each other due to gravity and begin to clump together.
• They continue to clump together until the pressure and temperature is great enough for
nuclear fusion to occur. o Hydrogen nuclei fuse together to form helium nuclei which releases a
large amount of energy and causes a great outwards pressure.

o This outwards pressure balances with the inwards pressure due to gravity and the star is now
stable and called a main sequence star.

• Eventually the hydrogen in the star is used up. There is no longer enough outward pressure
from nuclear fusion and it collapses under its own

• gravitational attraction, becoming unstable. o If the star has a similar mass to the Sun, it
expands massively and becomes a red giant. It then becomes a white dwarf (and finally cools
into a black dwarf).

o If the star has a mass larger than the Sun, it expands and becomes a red super giant, before
exploding in a supernova. What remains is either a neutron star, or if it was exceptionally
massive, a black hole.
Stars can be classified according to their colour. The colour of a star is related to its surface
temperature, with hotter stars being bluer and cooler stars being redder.

The brightness of a star at a standard distance can be represented using absolute

magnitude. A star’s absolute magnitude is defined to be equal to the apparent magnitude
that the star would have if it were viewed from exactly 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years) away.

A Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (HR diagram) shows the relationship between a star’s

surface temperature and brightness. The main components are shown in the diagram on
the right.

Cosmology
The Big Bang theory states that the universe expanded outwards from a single point.
Evidence for this theory includes:

• Red shift o The red shift of light from galaxies shows that they are all moving away from
us and that those which are furthest away are moving the fastest, suggesting that the
universe was formed from an explosion at a single point, evidence for the Big Bang.

• Cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) o Just after the Big Bang, lots of
short wavelength radiation should have been released. This radiation, as the universe
expanded over time, would have been stretched to become microwaves.

o The fact that there is cosmic microwave background radiation present wherever you
point a telescope in the sky provides evidence for the Big Bang.

As the Big Bang theory is currently the only theory which accounts for all the
experimental evidence, it is the most accepted model.
If a wave source is moving relative to an observer, there will be a change in the
observed frequency and wavelength due to the doppler effect. An example of this
is when the siren of an ambulance is high-pitched as it approaches you, and low-
pitched as it goes away.

• 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉=𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒙𝒚𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇

𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕

𝝀−𝝀𝟎/𝝀𝟎 = 𝒗/𝒄

𝚫𝝀/𝝀𝟎= 𝒗/𝒄

Doppler shift is responsible for the red-shift of light from galaxies which are
moving away from Earth, which is when the wavelength of the light coming from
them increases. The faster it is moving, the more its light is red-shifted.