Other radiation -

• Background radiation - natural resources ( rocks , food etc )

  • also from man-made sources ( nuclear weapons , nuclear waste / nuclear accidents )
  • doses vary on how close they are to the source -> can cause radiation poisoning

  dosage is measured = sieverts (Sv)

  1000 millisieverts ( mSv ) = sievert (Sv)
• Uses of nuclear radiation

  • Gamma sources - medical tracer in body
  • Isotopes injected / swallowed -> monitored and medical issues spotted
  • use short half-life so it’s not In the body
• nuclear fission - neutron absorbed by large radioactive nucleus which split into smaller ones

  • more neutrons and energy released
  • chain reaction

  fission carried out in a nuclear reactor in order to generate energy

  • controlled by rods , lowered down -> slows down process
  • of process not controlled = nuclear weapon produced
• different Half lives in radioactive isotopes

  • some short
  • some long
  • depends on the half life
• Radiotherapy

  high dose of radiation can be used to treat cancer

  • gamma rays focused directly to kill cancer cell, not too much healthy cells
  • damage on healthy cells can cause the patient to feel ill
• Fusion

  nuclear fusion - joining together smaller radioactive nuclei to make a large atom

  • occurs in the sun
  • process releases lots of energy
  • very high temperature and pressure is need for fusion to occur