Discovery of Radioactivity

Radioactivity 

Discovery of Radioactivity 

It took several years for the discovery of radioactivity to occur, starting with Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen's discovery of x-rays in 1895 and continuing with figures like Henri Becquerel and the Curie family. X-rays and radioactive materials have a wide range of uses in both industry and medicine. Nuclear reactors and isotope-infused saline solutions are only two examples of the many applications for radioactive material. With the help of these technologies, we are able to use enormous quantities of energy and study biological processes in ways that weren't even imaginable a century ago.

Introduction

What exactly is meant by radioactive? The confusing response you will find if you check up the definition in the dictionary is: Adjective: radioactive means emitting or having to do with ionising radiation or particles. What exactly are ionising radiation or particles, given this definition? What is meant specifically by emission? Can you perceive or feel these atoms? How does something become radioactive?

DISCOVERY Of Radioactivity

Roentgen, Wilhelm Conrad (1845-1923)

Contribution: For his work in x-ray discovery, he was awarded the first Noble Prize in Physics in 1901.

Roentgen was working in the lab on November 8, 1895, at the University of Wurzburg when he noticed an odd light emanating from a neighbouring table. Further investigation revealed that it came from the Hittof-Crookes tube he was using to examine cathode rays, which was partially evacuated and coated in opaque black paper. He reasoned that rays had to be the source of the fluorescence, which had peaked through the opaque black material. Although the phenomenon of x-rays and radioactivity are distinct from one another, Roentgen's discovery of the former prepared the way for the latter.

Becquerel, Antoine Henri (1852-1908)

Contributions: Awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for being the first to identify radioactivity as a phenomenon distinct from x-rays and to describe these differences.

Through the fluorescence that some materials emit, Henri Becquerel became aware of Roentgen's discovery of x-rays. Becquerel encircled a number of photographic plates with black paper and fluorescent salts, employing a technique related to Roentgen's. Becquerel was going to expose the hidden photographic paper to the sunshine and watch what happened in order to advance the study of x-rays. Sadly, the cloudy sky over Paris forced him to postpone his experiment.He inserted the covered plates inside a desk drawer that was dark. Becquerel returned to his experiment a few days later, unwrapping the photographic paper and developing it in anticipation of only a faint trace from the salts. Instead, the salts left very clear impressions on the photographic paper, indicating that they continued to glow despite not having an energy source. Radiation was what Becquerel had uncovered.

Marie and Pierre (1859–1906) (1867-1934) Contributions of Curie: For their research on radioactivity, Pierre and Marie received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903. When Marie Curie earned the prize for the discovery of polonium and radium in 1911, she became the first person to win two nobel awards and the first woman to receive a nobel.

Radioactivity was discovered by Henri Becquerel, but Marie Curie is credited with creating the term. Curie was able to observe that uranium electrified the air around it using a device that her husband and his brother invented that measured incredibly low electrical currents.

Further research revealed that the amount of uranium in uranium compounds affected their activity, and that radioactivity originated from the atom itself rather than through interactions between molecules. Thorium was also radioactive, as discovered by Curie using Pitchblende and Chalcolite. Later, she made the rare and difficult-to-extract discoveries of Polonium and radium, two new radioactive elements. This discovery process took her several years. The Curies, however, passed away too soon. Marie Curie passed away from aplastic anaemia, which was probably certainly caused by radiation exposure, while Pierre Curie was killed in a traffic accident.

Rutherford, Ernest (1871-1937)

Ernest Rutherford is regarded as the founding father of nuclear physics. He was able to solve the atomic structure's riddles with the help of his gold foil experiment. In 1908, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Rutherford was pounding a piece of gold foil with Alpha particles in 1909 at the University of Manchester. Rutherford observed that, even though the majority of the particles passed through the foil without being deflected, one out of every 8,000 particles did.Rutherford remarked, "It was like firing a fifteen-inch naval shell at a piece of tissue paper and having the shell come right back and hit you. The majority of an atom's mass is concentrated in a very small positively charged region known as the nucleus, while electrons whirl around on the outside, he came to the conclusion. This is despite the fact that an atom is mostly made up of empty space.

Rutherford was also able to see that different radioactive elements exhibited different processes of decay over the course of time. Rutherford converted Oxygen into another element in 1919 using alpha particles (Nitrogen). It was described as "splitting the atom" in papers at the time.

Applications

The usage of radioactive isotopes in modern life is widespread. Although many people are unaware of it, radioactivity is utilised frequently in homes as well as in science, business, and warfare. Here are a few instances of modern use for radioactive isotopes.

INDUSTRY 

 Gamma Sterilization

Syringes, gloves, and other disposable medical items that would be harmed by heat sterilisation are sterilised on a large scale using gamma radiation. Killing parasites that are present in wood, wool, and other extensively used materials is another use for large-scale gamma irradiation. As a result of the US government permitting meat to be radioactively sterilised in the 1960s, this technique is now widely employed. Blood transfusions and other types of medical sterilisation are also done using small-scale irradiates.

Medicine

In medical research, radioisotopes are utilised as tracers. These isotopes are ingested by people, allowing researchers to investigate bodily functions like digestion and find health issues like tumours and obstructions inside a person's digestive tract.

Cancer removal and the removal of angioplasty blockages both involve radioactive materials.

Radioactive elements list

On the periodic table, all naturally occurring radioactive elements—with the exception of Tc and Pm—are concentrated between atomic numbers 84 and 118. Also observe that the table has a hiatus between the numbers 110 and 118, which are hypothetical radioactive elements that have not yet been confirmed. Scientists have so far identified 29 radioactive elements:

//Technetium (TC)-------- Transition metal

///Promethium (Pm)- ---------Rare earth metal

//Polonium (Po)----------- Metalliod

///Astatine (At)- ---------Halogen

///Radon (Rn)---------- Noble gas

///Francium (Fr)----------- Alkali Metal

///Radium (Ra)------------ Alkali Earth Metal

///Actinium (Ac)---------- Rare Earth metal

///Thorium (Th)-------- Rare Earth Metal

///Protactinium (Pa)--------- Rare Earth Metal

///Uranium (U)----------- Rare Earth Meta //Neptunium (Np)---------- Rare Earth Metal

///Plutonium (Pu)---------- Rare Earth Metal

///Americium (Am)---------Rare Earth Metal

////Curium (Cm)-------- Rare Earth Metal

///Berkelium (Bk)----------- Rare Earth Metal

////Californium (Cf)- --------Rare Earth Metal

///Einsteinium (Es)------_-- Rare Earth Metal

///Fermium (Fm)- ----------Rare Earth Metal

////Mendelevium (Md)---------- Rare Earth Metal

////Nobelium (No)------------- Rare Earth ////Lawrencium (Lr)---------- Rare Earth Metal

///Rutherfordium (Rt) or Kurchatovium (Ku)----------- Transition Metal

////Dubnium (Db) or Nilsborium (Ns)------- Transition Metal

///Seaborgium (Sg)-------- Transition Metal

///Bohrium (Bh)---------- Transition Metal

////Hassium (Hs)--------- Transition Metal

////Meitnerium (Mt)_____- Transition Metal.

Describe radioactivity.

.Numerous elements and diverse kinds of matter exhibit the phenomena known as radioactivity. Every type of matter that surrounds us, as we are all aware, is composed of constituent elements, each of which contains atoms. Items often don't alter arbitrarily over time since they are stable. On the other hand, radioactive atoms are constantly undergoing changes as time passes. Naturally, the energy in these atoms is lost. Radiation is the result of them releasing energy and a variety of smaller particles.

types of radioactivity.

There are three different types of radioactivity, including:

Alpha decay is the process by which a nucleus emits alpha particles and splits apart into a new nucleus.

Beta decay: The nucleus appears to decay naturally in beta decay, producing both positrons and electrons. This could happen as beta positive (+) or beta negative (-) decay.

Gamma decay: The difference in electronegativity between a nuclear's excited and ground states would be the reason for gamma decay.

Radioactivity Unit

In its simplest form, radioactivity describes the particles that nuclei emit when they become unstable. The curie was used as a measurement tool for radioactivity (Ci). At first, it equates to one gramme of radium-226. 1 curie is now thought to equal 3.7×10¹⁰

 radioactive decays per second. Let's examine the SI unit of radioactivity in this article, along with a few of its associated units.

Consequently, the SI composite unit for radioactivity is kilogramme metre squared per second.

What is the radioactivity SI unit?

The becquerel (Bq), the SI unit of radioactivity, is named after Henri Becquerel. As defined by the unit of radioactivity:

a quantity of radioactive material that is active when one decay occurs every second.

1 becquerel = 1 radioactive decay per second = 2.703×10^-11 Ci

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