Descriptions of how isotopes can be used in research, medicine, industry, and electricity generation.
Radioactive isotopes can be used to diagnose patients for certain diseases in their organs or it can help treat something such as cancer. But this can really weaken their body after treatment. The most common isotope for diagnoses is technetium-99. Radioactive isotopes can also be used in industry for increasing production and also to gain information. Also in industry and mining they can be used to look at welds, find leaks and to look at a big range of minerals and fuels. Also they can be used in food preservation by killing things that are harmful to our bodies. They also help keep food good and not spoil to fast. In livestock and crops they help keep diseases away from the animals for crops so they don't die. And isotopes are used in X-ray machines. In research radioactive isotopes also can be used as tracers these make gamma rays that can be used for diagnostic research and helps with organ research as well. Some gamma rays can be used for sterilization. Research reactors are used for research and training. Their mostly used on University Campuses. They are used in smoke detectors and the police use them also for research. (world-nuclear.org, 2007).
Half-life is the time needed for half of the atoms in a group of radioactive isotopes to decay. Each isotope has a different half-life. (Nuclear Science Division ---- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2007)
Radioactive isotope picture
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