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 hanyatlás.
FELFEDEZÉS
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. Az eredmény? 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 attra média érdeke. A nők a mai dollárban 100 000 dollárra helyezték el a helyzetet, valamint orvosi költségeket, valamint évente 600 dollárt, amíg éltek. Az utolsó nő csak a település után két évig túlélte. After the situation was settled in 1928, us Radium continued operations under new security laws up until 1947.
There were similar histories, such as the Radiant Dial Corporation, which likewise employed women in the exact same conditions as us Radium, with similar unfortunate results. Sajnos a sugárzás veszélyeiről való megértés előzetes hiánya miatt, valamint az igazság, hogy bármilyen atomi divatos volt abban az időben, radiumot használtak, radikumot használtak el, amit el tudsz képzelni: kozmetikumok, otthoni tisztítószerek, fogkrémek, kúpok, cigaretták as well as even virility boosters such as the Scrotal Radiendocrinator: location it under your scrotum as well as you’ll be atomic in the bedroom.
Annak ellenére, hogy a radium lányok nyerték, az atomi termékek mintája az 1950-es évek végéig folytatódott. Szerencsére a termékek közül sok csak kis mennyiségű radiumot tartalmazott a magas ár miatt.
Modern felhasználások
A radioaktivitás számos hasznos használata van. Az energiatermeléshez szükséges atomreaktorok rendkívül jól ismertek. A nyomjelzők olyan radioizotópok, amelyek kémiai reakcióval rendelkező útja követhető, valamint a kémiai, valamint a biokémiai felhasználás, hogy megértsék a kémiai reakciókat, valamint kölcsönhatásaikat. Nyomon követhetik a vegyület eloszlását a szövetben, valamint olyan típusú képalkotó rendszerek alapját, mint például a Positron Disleding Tomográfia, valamint az egy-foton kisütés számított tomográfia. A hidraulikus törésben lévő törések helye ugyanúgy kihasználja a nyomjelzőt. A radiokarbon társkereső régészetben használatos a fosszíliák korainak azonosítására. Irradiation of foods as well as medical devices is utilized to kill germs without harming the compound that is being disinfected. Az élelmiszerek sokkal hosszabb ideig elrontani, valamint az orvostechnikai eszközök sterilizálhatók a vegyi anyagok vagy a szélsőséges hő hatásának nélkül. Gauges consisting of radioactive substances are utilized to determine the thickness of paper products, fluid levels in oil as well as chemical tanks, as well as the wetness as well as density of soils.
A felfedezése óta sok a radioaktivitás megértése során megváltozott. The understanding of its properties has provided humanity the power to utilize it in numerous fields that can be beneficial, however likewise a belated appreciation for the prospective dangers.