Lec-3, 16 June 2021

Radioactive Decay
0
−1 

Gamma Rays

Parent Daughter
Co-60 Ni-60

Anti-neutrino
 Gamma (γ) radiation

• Daughter nuclei from radioactive decays are often ‘born’ with excess energy
• Usually the excited nucleus reaches ground state via nuclear de-excitation
• Most frequently the excess energy is relieved via the emission of one or more γ
rays
• The excited nucleus and the final ground state nucleus have the same Z and A
and are called isomers
• During de-excitation no nuclear transformation occurs, so no ‘new’ element is
formed
 Gamma radiation

 
−

1.173
0
−1  60
Co 99+%
27

0.83
0.013%

1.332
Gamma Rays 0.12%
Q
Parent Daughter
Co-60 Ni-60

Anti-neutrino

60
Co-60 Decay Scheme 28 Ni
 Artificially induced radioactivity
Radioactivation

Activation (or radioactivation) involves making a radioactive isotope by neutron capture, e.g. the addition of a
neutron to a nuclide resulting in an increase in isotope number by 1 while retaining the same atomic number.

The 60Co isotope is unstable (half life of 5.272 years) and disintegrates
into 60Ni via the emission of β particle and γ radiation
Penetration ability
Radioactive equilibrium
 Decay Series: Radioactive Equilibrium

A B C
NA NB NC

𝜆ANA = 𝜆BNB
➢In radioactive transformation when a daughter
element transforms at the same rate at which it is
formed from the parent element.
 Secular Equilibrium
➢Parent nucleus has a much longer
half-life than its daughter.

Example: Ra-226 (half-life =1620 yr)

which decays to Rn-226 (half-life 4.8
days).

➢Amount of daughter remains constant over time.

➢Activity remains constant over time.
 Transient Equilibrium
➢When the parent half-life is of the
order of the observation time and
the daughter half-life is slightly
shorter.

➢Eg. Mo 66 hours, TC-99m 6 hours

 Use of radioactive isotopes in medicine

➢ Diagnostic: thyroid uptake studies, renal function studies, lung

ventilation, perfusion, bone scanning, SPECT, PET imaging.

➢ Therapeutic: Treatment of cancer using radioisotopes, eg. Co-60

Origin of X-rays
 Origin of X-rays
➢Discovered by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen in 1895
➢1901, he won the first ever Nobel Prize in Physics.
➢Röntgen died on 10 February 1923 from carcinoma of the intestine.
 Origin of X-rays
X-rays are produced by the conversion of electron
kinetic energy into electromagnetic radiation.
30-140
 Origin of X-rays

Two types:
▪Bremsstrahlung (“braking radiation”) X-rays or
Beam radiation
▪Characteristics X-rays
 Bremsstrahlung
Bremsstrahlung radiation is the radiation given off by an electron due to
its acceleration caused by an electric field of an atomic nucleus.

The x-rays produced at a given accelerating potential V vary in energy (polyenergetic), but
none has energy higher than the K.E. of the electrons.
 Characteristic X-rays
➢Incident electron knockout inner shell electron.
➢The vacancy is filled by an electron from higher energy level.
➢Energy difference between the two energy levels is emitted as X-ray.
➢Called characteristic because the energy depend on the characteristics of the target
atoms.
 Origin of X-rays
X-rays are produced by the conversion of electron
kinetic energy into electromagnetic radiation.
30-140
X-ray circuit