ARTIFICIAL

RADIOACTIVITY
Irène Curie and Frédéric Joliot
How artificial radioactivity is done

Artificial radioactivity Generally achieved by striking the target nucleus with accelerated
particles
7 N14 + 0n1 6 C14 + 1H1 30 Zn66 +1p1 31 Ga67 5 B10 +2He4 7 N13 +0n1

There are several choices like α particle, β particle, proton, neutron etc as projectile
 α particle : heavy mass gives more momentum but positive charge requires high energy
 β particle :negative charge attracts nucleus so less energy is needed but negligible mass
cause no significant effect on nucleus
 Protons : more mass than electron but positive charge- repulsion
 Neutron : mass much higher than electron , also electrical neutrality helps to approach the
target nucleus with moderate velocity
Neutron activation is the main form of induced radioactivity
In 1938 Enrico Fermi
got nobel prize for his
 Artificial radioactivity occurs when the atomic nuclei captures one or more free demonstrations of
neutrons(radioactivation) the existence of new
 Sources of neutrons – nuclear fission, other nuclear reactions etc(those radioactive elements
neutrons have an average kinetic energy of the order of few mega electron produced by neutron
volts.) irradiation, and for
 Slow neutrons(less than energy 10 eV) are more likely to be captured by his related discovery
of nuclear reactions
atomic nuclei than fast neutrons brought about by
 So it must be slow down using a slow neutrons."
neutron moderator
Neutron Moderators
 It is a medium that reduces the speed of fast neutrons

 Commonly used– light water, graphite, heavy water, etc

 Neutrons have been slowed so that their average K.E becomes of the order of kT where k is
the Boltzman constant ,k= 1.38×10-23 J/K and T is the absolute temperature.

 At room temperature kT ≈ 0.025 eV

 Neutrons are left with minimal kinetic energy(thermal neutrons) hit the target nuclei
 CYCLOTRON
 Developed by E.O. Lawrence in 1934.Developed for accelerating
alpha particles, protons, deutrons.
D1 D2
 Consist of two flat semi circular boxes called ‘dees’ D1 & D2

in a vacuum chamber
 The chamber is placed between the poles of an electromagnet.

 A high frequency alternating voltage is applied across D1 & D2 (several million cycles per
second)
 Particles are injected into the centre of the space between these dees

 At a particular instant, D1 is positive D2 is negative. Then the positive ion produced move
towards D2 in a semi circular path.
 The magnetic field causes the path of the particle to bend in a circle due to the Lorentz
force perpendicular to their direction of motion
 When it is passing through D2 the sign of the potential is reversed.D1 –ve and D2 +ve,
Then the ion get accelerated towards D1
 As a result of these repeated impulses, the radius of the spiral path of ion increases, so
does its energy
 Now the ion moves faster
 Finally emerges out through the exile E when it posses high energy and high velocity.
dees
(40000 km/s) Vacuum
chamber Magnetic
D1 D2
field

Ion source
target

Electric field E
region
 IMPORTANT APPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL RADIOACTIVITY

• Calcium-47 studying cellular functions and bone formations in mammals

• Chromium-51 used in research in RBC survival studies
• Cobalt-60 sterilize surgical instruments, cancer treatments, radiography, food irradiation,
• Copper-67 when injected with monoclonal antibodies, helps the antibodies to bind to and
destroy the tumour
• Iodine-123 , Iodine-125, Iodine129, Iodine-131diagnose thyroid disorders and other
metabolic disorders including brain functions
• Iron-55 to analyse electroplating solutions, to detect the presence of sulphur in the air
• Sodium-24 to locate leaks in industrial pipe lines
• Cesium-137to measure correct patient dosage of radioactive pharmaceuticals, to measure
and control liquid flow in oil pipelines, to ensure right fill level of packages of food
• Nickel-63 used to detect explosives, in electron capture detectors in gas
chromatographs
• Tritium used in biomedical research, for self luminous aircraft, for
luminous dials in watches etc
• Xenon-133 used in nuclear medicine for lung ventilation and blood flow
diseases
• Sulphur-35 used in genetics and molecular biology research
• Phosphorus-32, P33 used in molecular biology and genetic research
• Cadmiun-109 used to analyse metal alloys for checking stock, scrap
sorting
REFERENCES

• I.Curie,and F.Joliot, “Artificial Production of Radioactive substances,”Science, 79, 234-

35(1934)
• Wikipedia
• Puri, Sharma and Pathania, “Principles of Inorganic Chemistry”,1126-28,(2016)
• W.D. Loveland, D.J. Morrissey and G.T. Seaborg, “Modern Nuclear Chemistry”,403-404,
(2003)
THANK YOU