Physics 23 - Radioactivity
Physics 23 - Radioactivity
Physics 23 - Radioactivity
amount of radiation
around us all the time
… comes from many sources because of
radioactive materials
Hold on a minute in the environment.
– how do we This is called
know about this background radiation.
‘background
radiation’ stuff?
When a radioactive
particle enters the
tube it ionises the gas
We can monitor levels inside and triggers an
of radiation using a electrical discharge
Geiger-Muller tube (spark) which make s
and counter. a clicking sound.
http://ztopics.com/Geiger-Muller%20counter/
http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/environment/air-quality-and-pollution/radiation-monitoring
Background radiation There is a small
amount of radiation
around us all the time
… comes from many sources because of
radioactive materials
So what changes the level of in the environment.
background radiation? This is called
background radiation.
Alpha α
Beta β
Gamma γ
The three types of radiation
β
Speed up to 0.1 x speed of
Beta light
Strong ionizing effect
Not very penetrating (stopped
by paper, or skin, or a few
Alpha α electron.
A relative charge of -1.
A low mass compared with
alpha particles.
β
Speed up to 0.9 x speed of light
Gamma γ fields
The three types of radiation
β
No mass
Beta Travel at the speed of light
Very weak ionising effect.
Very strongly penetrating –
intensity reduced by lead and
Alpha α
Beta β
+ β
- α
α particles – positively charged, so deflected in the direction of the negative terminal (or
south pole).
β particles – negatively charged, so deflected in the direction of the positive terminal (or
north pole)
γ particles – no charge, so not deflected by magnetic or electric fields.
Summary of
The three types of radiation effects
Applications
1. Tracers in medicine. Radioisotopes can be
detected in very small amounts, so are useful for
checking the function of body organs. eg. Iodine-
123, a gamma source, is used to check the function
of the thyroid gland.
Applications
5. Radiotherapy – treating cancer using gamma
rays. High doses of gamma rays are directed
at just the right dosage to kill cancer cells,
whilst minimising damage to surrounding healthy http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/
cells. zm8nb9q/revision/9