Uses of Radioactive Isotopes

Radioactive isotopes have a variety of applications. Generally, however, they are useful because either we can detect their radioactivity or we can use the energy they release.

Radioactive isotopes are effective tracers because their radioactivity is easy to detect. A tracer is a substance that can be used to follow the pathway of that substance through some structure. For instance, leaks in underground water pipes can be discovered by running some tritium-containing water through the pipes and then using a Geiger counter to locate any radioactive tritium subsequently present in the ground around the pipes. (Recall that tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen.)

Tracers can also be used to follow the steps of a complex chemical reaction. After incorporating radioactive atoms into reactant molecules, scientists can track where the atoms go by following their radioactivity. One excellent example of this is the use of carbon-14 to determine the steps involved in photosynthesis in plants. We know these steps because researchers followed the progress of carbon-14 throughout the process.

مواضيع ذات صلة

الخواص الطيفية للاحماض الامينية Spectroscopic of Amino Acids

الاحماض الامينية غير البروتينية Non-protein Amino Acids

الاحماض الامينية النادرة في البروتينات

تصنيف الاحماض الامينية

امتصاص النيوترونات Absorption of Neutrons

طرائق امتصاص الدقائق المشحونة الثقيلة

طرائق امتصاص الدقائق المشحونة الخفيفة

التفاعلات النووية الضوئية Photonuclear Reactions

الاستطارة المترابطة Coherent Scattering

ظاهرة انتاج مزدوج الكترون-بوزترون

تأثير كومبتون Compton Effect

التأثير الكهروضوئي Photoelectric Effect