much more than one hundred years ago, Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium emitted penetrating rays similar to those utilized by Wilhelm Röntgen to take the very first X-ray picture (of his wife’s hand), starting a new age of far-reaching applications. There are of program numerous dangers that come with the utilize of radioactivity, however there are likewise numerous beneficial uses for our society.
WHAT IS RADIOACTIVITY
An alpha particle is expelled from the nucleus.
The nucleus of an atom is made of protons as well as neutrons. since protons have positive charge, they repel each other, so there should be a force that holds the nucleus together, as well as the neutrons don’t help, since they are neutral. This force is the strong nuclear force as well as the energy associated with it is called the binding energy.
For reasons that go beyond the range of this article, atomic nuclei with much more than 83 protons in it (bismuth) do not have sufficient binding energy to hold the nucleus together. In response, the nucleus tries to accomplish balance by giving off a neutron or proton in the radioactive decay process, which emits radiation in the type of alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays (among other much more exotic processes). Alpha particles, for example, are composed of two protons as well as two neutrons that are expelled at high speed (some 5% of the speed of light) from the nucleus, as well as an atom of a different chemical aspect is created by the decaer.
DESCUBRIMIENTO
The very first X-ray picture from the hand of Anna Bertha Ludwig, Röntgen´s wife.
While conducting experiments with electrical power as well as vacuum tubes in 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered that his photographic plates were darkened, even when wrapped with black paper. He then concluded that some type of yet unknown, penetrating rays were at play in his experimental setup. He was able to utilize this new “X-rays”, as he named them, to take the very first X-ray image, utilizing the hand of his other half Anna Bertha. A year later Henri Becquerel discovered that similar rays were produced naturally by uranium salts.
The phenomenon that produced the X-rays was named radioactivity by Marie Curie, Becquerel´s doctoral student. Marie as well as her other half Pierre, carried on much of the pioneering work on radioactivity. They discovered new elements with this property, such as radium, polonium, as well as thorium. Of the 48 women who have been awarded Nobel prizes, Marie Curie is the only one who won the distinction twice: very first in physics for her work in radiation phenomena, as well as then in chemistry, for her discovery of radium as well as polonium. It is worth to mention that only four persons as well as two organizations have won multiple Nobel awards.
Marie Curie died in 1934, sufferer of her work with radiation, because it was not known at the time that radiation posed major health and wellness issues. Her papers as well as even her cookbook are stored in shielded boxes as they are still extremely radioactive as well as cannot be handed safely.
THE RADIUM women as well as other unfortunate HISTORIES
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Radium was discovered to be two million times as radioactive as uranium, the radium salts even glow visibly from radiation. This cause a new market that benefited from the new phenomenon (the Curies did not patent their discovery). The us Radium company was a business that utilized a recipe that combined radium salts with glue as well as zinc sulfide, an aspect that glows in the existence of radiation. ¿El resultado? Glow-in-the-dark paint, that was marketed with the name “undark”. It was utilized by the armed forces in their wristwatches as well as instrument panels so they might be checked out at night. It was likewise utilized in home numbers, light switch plates, as well as even for the eyes of toy dolls.
The painting was done by a group of women, some as young as 14. They were known as the Radium Girls. When working with fine-tipped brushes to paint the numbers as well as hands of wristwatches, they utilized their lips as well as tongues to point the ideas of the brushes. unaware of the remarkable risk of the radiation, they even painted their fingernails as well as teeth in buy to surprise their boyfriends. Of program they ingested significant amounts of radioactive material, as well as began to experience from anemia, fallen teeth, stillborn babies, bone fractures as well as jaw necrosis.
The very first legal fit against us Radium was filed in september 1925. With the assist of doctors as well as dentists in their payroll, the business rejected all claims that the radium exposure was to blame. much more than two years passed up until one of the women might discover a attorney that would take the case, as well as the trial dragged on for months. four other women likewise joined the fit as well as the situation lastly attrActuó el interés de los medios de comunicación. Las mujeres establecieron la situación por alrededor de $ 100,000 en dólares de hoy, más gastos médicos, así como $ 600 por año durante el tiempo que vivieron. La última mujer solo sobrevivió durante dos años después del asentamiento. Después de que la situación se resolviera en 1928, Estados Unidos Radium continuó las operaciones bajo nuevas leyes de seguridad hasta 1947.
Había historias similares, como la Radiant Dial Corporation, que igualmente empleaba a las mujeres en las mismas condiciones que Radium de EE. UU., Con resultados similares desafortunados. Desafortunadamente, debido a la falta preliminar de entendimiento sobre los peligros de la radiación, así como la verdad de que cualquier atómica era terriblemente moderno en ese momento, el radio se utilizó en lo que puedas imaginar: cosméticos, productos de limpieza de hogar, pasta de dientes, supositorios, cigarrillos. Además de los refuerzos de virilidad, como el radiugocrinador escrotal: la ubicó debajo de su escroto, así como serás atómico en el dormitorio.
A pesar de la demanda ganada por las chicas de Radium, el patrón de productos atómicos continuó hasta finales de la década de 1950. Afortunadamente, muchos de estos productos contenían solo pequeñas cantidades de radio debido a su alto precio.
Usos modernos
Hay numerosos usos útiles de la radiactividad. De los reactores nucleares del programa para la generación de energía son extremadamente conocidos. Los trazadores son radioisótopos cuyo camino con una reacción química se puede seguir, así como se utilizan en química, así como en la bioquímica para comprender las reacciones químicas, así como sus interacciones. Pueden rastrear la distribución de un compuesto en el tejido, así como a escribir la base de una serie de sistemas de imágenes, como la tomografía de descarga de positrones, así como la tomografía computarizada de descarga de un solo fotón. El lugar de las fracturas en fracturamiento hidráulico también hace que utilice los trazadores. Las citas con radiocarbono se utilizan en arqueología para identificar las edades de los fósiles. La irradiación de los alimentos, así como los dispositivos médicos, se utiliza para matar gérmenes sin dañar el compuesto que se está desinfectado. Los alimentos tardan mucho más en estropear, así como los dispositivos médicos se pueden esterilizar sin exposición a productos químicos o calor extremo. Se utilizan medidores que consisten en sustancias radiactivas para determinar el grosor de los productos de papel, los niveles de líquidos en el aceite, así como los tanques químicos, así como la humedad, así como la densidad de los suelos.
Desde su descubrimiento, mucho ha cambiado en nuestra comprensión de la radiactividad. La comprensión de sus propiedades ha proporcionado a la humanidad el poder de utilizarlo en numerosos campos que pueden ser beneficiosos, sin embargo, también una apreciación tardía por los posibles peligros.