uses of nuclear radiation

what are the uses for beta or gamma radiation

they are used for medical tracers since beta and gamma radiation can penetrate the skin and other body tissues.

how does doctors use beta or gamma radiation for medical tracers

source that emits beta or gamma radiation will be injected into the patient, the radiation penetrates the body tissues and can be detected externally. As the source moves around the Boyd, the radiographer uses a detector and a computer to monitor its progress on a display.

what do doctors need to look for in the beta or gamma radiation to make it safe to be used as medical tracers and why

they need to have a short half life so that the initial level are high enough to be easily detected, and for the radioactivity inside the patient quickly disappears.

why is alpha radiation is not used for medical tracers like beta and gamma radiation

becuase its highly ionising, so it is really powerful and harmful when it gets inside of you since it cannot penetrate the body tissue.

what is ionising radiation for

ionising radaition is to kill or damage cells and tissue that can cause cancer. It kills the cancer cels and stops them from diving, it involves a high dose of gamma rays to kill the cancer cells and minimising the does of to the rest of the body.

what is gamma rays used for

medical tracers (already said in the flashcard set)

sterilising food

for sterilising food, what characteristics does the radioactivity source need to be.

they need two be a very strong emitter of gamma rays Wirth a reasonable long half life so that it doest need replacing often.

how does gamma rays sterilise food

with a high dosage of gamma rays, it can kill all microbes in the food.

how can radiation be used in the industry

for tracers

thickness gauges

what are tracers for

they are used in the industry too detect leaks in underground pipes

how can radiation be used for tracers

the source of radiation can be placed inside the pipe and a detector is used above the ground, it has to be gamma radiation used because it can pass through any rocks or earth surrounding the pipe. If there is a crack in the pipe, more radiation will collect outside the pipe ad the detector will show that extra high radioactivity.

what are the characteristics needed for the radiation source when using it for tracer

should have a short half life to not cause long term hazard

should use gamma radiation since it penetrates.

what type of radiation is used for thickness gauges

beta radiation

how does beta radiation be used in thickness gauges

you direct radiation through the stuff being made and put a detector on the other side, connected to a control unit. When the detected radiation level changes, it means the aper is coming out too thick or too thin. So the control unit needs to adjust the rollers to give the correct thickness.