an energy released in the form of high speed particles or electromagnetic waves during a nuclear reaction
Henry Becquerel
He discovered that uranium is radioactive.
Marie and Pierre Curie
They discovered the element radium
Isotope
an element has the same number of protons as the element but has different number of neutrons.
Ionizing Radiation
A type of radiation that has enough energy to separate molecules or remove electrons from an atom
Non-ionizing radiation
A type of radiation that does not have enough energy to remove electrons from an atom
Radioactive atoms decay and emit three distinct types of rays: alpha particle in an alpha decay, beta particle in a beta decay, and gamma ray in a gamma decay.
Transmutation
the changing of one element to another by emission of an alpha particle or a beta particle
Half-Life
the time needed for half of the active atoms to decay.
Geiger Counter
a radiation detector that detects incoming radiation by its ionizing effect on enclosed gas in a tube
Scintillation counter
a radiation detector that detects incoming radiation by flashes of light that are produced when charged particles or gamma rays pass through it.
Nuclear Fission
the splitting of atom that releases tremendous amount of energy
Nuclear fusion
involves combining the nuclei of atom to produce large amounts of energy
