RADIOACTIVITY

RADIOACTIVITY

Is the spontaneous emission of particles and energy of the nucleus in order to become stable and transforms itself into another atom

Radioactivity happens when

The Nucleus of an atom has too few or too many neutrons

Radioactive Decay

the nucleus of the atom spontaneously emits particles and energy and transforms itself into another atom in order to reach stability

RADIOISOTOPES

Are the term used for any of several species of the same chemical element with different masses whose nuclei are unstable and dissipate excess energy by spontaneously emitting radiation in the form of alpha, beta, and gamma rays.

Cobalt-60

treatment of Cancer

Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)

Detection of cancer and cancer metastasis and in evaluation of heart condition

Iodine-131

treatment of hyperthyroidism

two primary sources of radioactive atom

Naturally Occurring, and Man-made

Naturally Occurring

Uranium decays to radium, then in tum decays to radon

Man-Made

Use of Cyclotron to create a radioisotope. It fires an accelerated particle beam at stable isotopes

RADIOACTIVE HALF-LIFE

It is the time required for a quantity of radioactivity to be reduced to one-half of its original value

TYPES OF HALF-LIVES

Physical Half-Life, Biological Half-Life, and Effective Half-Life

Physical Half-Life

is the time for a quantity of a radioisotope to decay by half

Biological Half-Life

is the time for ½ of the amount of radionuclide to be expelled from the body

Effective Half-Life

The time required for the activity of a particular radioisotope deposited in a living organism, such as a human or an animal, to be reduced by 50 percent because of the combined action of radioactive decay and biological elimination