Radiation
- this happens when a nucleus is unstable
Alpha radiation
- made up of 2 protons and 2 neutrons
- mass number: 4
- proton number: 2
- hint: same as Helium
Beta radiation
- losing an electron
- a proton turns into a neutron
- mass number: 0
- proton number: -1
Penetration
- alpha: least penetrating
- beta:
- gamma: most penetrating
Contamination
- unwanted presence of materials containing radioactive atoms on other materials. The hazard from contamination is due to the decay of the contaminating atoms. The type of radiation emitted affects the level of hazard.
Irradiation
- exposing an object to nuclear radiation. The irradiated object does not become radioactive. This is everywhere e.g. rocks, banana, weapons.
Half life
- the time taken for the number of nuclei of an isotope in a sample to half.