A short history OF RADIOACTIVITY

much more than one hundred years ago, Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium emitted penetrating rays similar to those utilized by Wilhelm Röntgen to take the very first X-ray picture (of his wife’s hand), starting a new age of far-reaching applications. There are of program numerous dangers that come with the utilize of radioactivity, however there are likewise numerous beneficial uses for our society.

WHAT IS RADIOACTIVITY

An alpha particle is expelled from the nucleus.
The nucleus of an atom is made of protons as well as neutrons. since protons have positive charge, they repel each other, so there should be a force that holds the nucleus together, as well as the neutrons don’t help, since they are neutral. This force is the strong nuclear force as well as the energy associated with it is called the binding energy.

For reasons that go beyond the range of this article, atomic nuclei with much more than 83 protons in it (bismuth) do not have sufficient binding energy to hold the nucleus together. In response, the nucleus tries to accomplish balance by giving off a neutron or proton in the radioactive decay process, which emits radiation in the type of alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays (among other much more exotic processes). Alpha particles, for example, are composed of two protons as well as two neutrons that are expelled at high speed (some 5% of the speed of light) from the nucleus, as well as an atom of a different chemical aspect is created by the förfall.

UPPTÄCKT

The very first X-ray picture from the hand of Anna Bertha Ludwig, Röntgen´s wife.
While conducting experiments with electrical power as well as vacuum tubes in 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered that his photographic plates were darkened, even when wrapped with black paper. He then concluded that some type of yet unknown, penetrating rays were at play in his experimental setup. He was able to utilize this new “X-rays”, as he named them, to take the very first X-ray image, utilizing the hand of his other half Anna Bertha. A year later Henri Becquerel discovered that similar rays were produced naturally by uranium salts.

The phenomenon that produced the X-rays was named radioactivity by Marie Curie, Becquerel´s doctoral student. Marie as well as her other half Pierre, carried on much of the pioneering work on radioactivity. They discovered new elements with this property, such as radium, polonium, as well as thorium. Of the 48 women who have been awarded Nobel prizes, Marie Curie is the only one who won the distinction twice: very first in physics for her work in radiation phenomena, as well as then in chemistry, for her discovery of radium as well as polonium. It is worth to mention that only four persons as well as two organizations have won multiple Nobel awards.

Marie Curie died in 1934, sufferer of her work with radiation, because it was not known at the time that radiation posed major health and wellness issues. Her papers as well as even her cookbook are stored in shielded boxes as they are still extremely radioactive as well as cannot be handed safely.

THE RADIUM women as well as other unfortunate HISTORIES

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Radium was discovered to be two million times as radioactive as uranium, the radium salts even glow visibly from radiation. This cause a new market that benefited from the new phenomenon (the Curies did not patent their discovery). The us Radium company was a business that utilized a recipe that combined radium salts with glue as well as zinc sulfide, an aspect that glows in the existence of radiation. Resultatet? Glow-in-the-dark paint, that was marketed with the name “undark”. It was utilized by the armed forces in their wristwatches as well as instrument panels so they might be checked out at night. It was likewise utilized in home numbers, light switch plates, as well as even for the eyes of toy dolls.

The painting was done by a group of women, some as young as 14. They were known as the Radium Girls. When working with fine-tipped brushes to paint the numbers as well as hands of wristwatches, they utilized their lips as well as tongues to point the ideas of the brushes. unaware of the remarkable risk of the radiation, they even painted their fingernails as well as teeth in buy to surprise their boyfriends. Of program they ingested significant amounts of radioactive material, as well as began to experience from anemia, fallen teeth, stillborn babies, bone fractures as well as jaw necrosis.

The very first legal fit against us Radium was filed in september 1925. With the assist of doctors as well as dentists in their payroll, the business rejected all claims that the radium exposure was to blame. much more than two years passed up until one of the women might discover a attorney that would take the case, as well as the trial dragged on for months. four other women likewise joined the fit as well as the situation lastly attragerade medias intresse. Kvinnorna avgjorde situationen för cirka 100 000 dollar i dagens dollar, plus medicinska kostnader samt $ 600 per år så länge de bodde. Den sista kvinnan överlevde bara i två år efter bosättningen. Efter att situationen avgjordes 1928 fortsatte amerikanska radium verksamheten enligt nya säkerhetslagar fram till 1947.

Det fanns liknande historier, till exempel strålningsuppskattningsföretaget, som likaledes använde kvinnor på exakt samma villkor som amerikansk radium, med liknande olyckliga resultat. Tyvärr, på grund av den preliminära bristen på förståelse om farorna med strålning, liksom sanningen att det som helst som helst som otroligt var trendigt vid den tiden, användes radium i vad du än kan tänka sig: kosmetika, hemrengöringsmedel, tandkräm, suppositorier, cigaretter Förutom jämnt virket boosters som ScroteL-radiencinatorn: Plats den under din skrot och du kommer att vara atom i sovrummet.

Trots den kostym som vunnits av radiumflickorna fortsatte atomproduktermönstret fram till slutet av 1950-talet. Lyckligtvis innehöll många av dessa produkter bara små mängder radium på grund av sitt höga pris.

Moderna användningsområden

Det finns många användbara användningar av radioaktivitet. Av programkärnreaktorer för kraftproduktion är extremt välkända. Spårämnen är radioisotoper vars väg med en kemisk reaktion kan följas, liksom utnyttjas i kemi såväl som biokemi för att förstå kemiska reaktioner såväl som deras interaktioner. De kan spåra fördelningen av en förening i vävnaden, såväl som typen av ett antal avbildningssystem som positronutsläpptomografi, såväl som en-fotonavladdning beräknad tomografi. Frakturorten i hydraulisk frakturering gör också utnyttjande av spårämnen. Radiokarbondatering utnyttjas i arkeologi för att identifiera fossilsåldern. Bestrålning av livsmedel såväl som medicintekniska produkter utnyttjas för att döda bakterier utan att skada den som desinficeras. Livsmedel tar mycket längre tid att förstöra, såväl som medicintekniska produkter kan steriliseras utan exponering för kemikalier eller extrem värme. Mätare som består av radioaktiva ämnen används för att bestämma tjockleken på pappersprodukter, vätskenivåer i olja såväl som kemiska tankar, såväl som våtheten såväl som densitet av marken.

Sedan dess upptäckt har mycket förändrats i vår förståelse av radioaktivitet. Förståelsen av dess egenskaper har gett mänskligheten kraften att utnyttja den på många områden som kan vara fördelaktiga, men också en försenad uppskattning för de potentiella farorna.