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Radioactive decay

Radioactive is a spontaneous transfor-

mation of an unstable atomic nucleus, in
which radiation is released in the form of
alpha particles, beta particles, and gam-
ma rays.

&

Alpha decay

In alpha decay, alpha particles are emit-

ted from the original nucleus.

Each alpha particle is basically a helium

nucleus – it has 2 protons & 2 neutrons
(i.e. Z = 2, A = 4).

Therefore in alpha decay, the proton num-

ber decreases by 2 and the nucleon num-
ber decreases by 4.

&

Beta decay

In beta decay, a neutron is converted into

a proton and an electron. The electron is
then fired out of the nucleus whilst the
proton remains.

This means that the the neutron number

decreases by 1, and the proton number
increases by 1 (therefore the nucleon
number remains unchanged)

&

Gamma decay

IN gamma decay, the number of protons

and neutrons remain unchanged. The
gamma ray takes away some of the ex-
cess energy of the nucleus after it has
emitted an alpha or beta particle.

&

Detection of radioactivi-
ty

A radioisotope is an isotope of an ele-

ment that has an unstable nucleus, and
can undergo radioactive decay by emit-
ting alpha, beta and gamma radiation (or
a combination of the three)

Ionizing radiation can detected by using a

Geiger-Mller tube or a photographic film.

G-M tube

A G-M tube works be detecting the ions

produced when alpha, beta or gamma
radiation enters the tube. It is attached
to a counter that registers a count each
time a radioactive particle is detected.

Photographic film

Photographic film is blackened by the

presence of ionizing radiation. The higher
the number of radioactive particles inci-
dent on the film, the blacker it becomes

&

Characteristics of three
kinds of emission

As mentioned above radioactive decay

results in the emission of three types of
radiation alpha (α), beta(β) , and gamma
(γ).

These are basically ‘bits and pieces’ that

fall out once an unstable atom breaks
apart.

All three emissions are ionizing radia-

tions
tions. This means that they have the
ability to remove electrons from atoms
that they come across. This is known as
the ionizing effect
effect.

Once an atom loses an electron, there is

a charge imbalance i.e. more protons
than electrons, and therefore causes the
originally neutron atom to become a posi-
tively charged ion instead.

Effect of electric fields

Effect of magnetic fields

Betaparticlesaredeflectedupwards
accordingtofleming'sLHR.Theyare
deflectedmorethanalphabecausethey
weighmuchless

Alphaparticlesaredeflecteddownwards
(accordingtofleming'slefthandrule(where
directionofpositivecharge=current)

Gammaravsareunaffected(asthey
havenocharge)

&

Half life

As a sample of radioactive material de-

cays, the activity decreases with time.
The activity is the number of radioactive
particles that are emitted per second.

As the number of unstable nuclei de-

creases, the number of radioactive parti-
cles releases per second also decreas-
es.

It is difficult to assess when a sample of

radioactive material completely halts
because the activity never really falls to
zero, but we can measure the half life
instead.

The half life of a radioactive isotope is

the time taken for half of the nuclei in
the sample to decay, or the time taken
for the activity of the sample to fall to
half of its original value.

&

Safety precautions

Ionizing radiation can kill or damage cells

by causing changes in the DNA which can
lead to mutation and cancer.

It is therefore important for people work-

ing with radiation to take safety precau-
tions. Radiation workers wear film
badges, which monitor the dose of radia-
tion received to ensure that it does not
exceed the safe levels.

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