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Radioactive Isotopes
9-10-07 Per.2
Radioactive isotopes(also known as RAI ) are different from their ‘parent’ or the neutral form of the element, because they have a different number of neutrons. They can be used to kill malfunctioning sells, it can also treat abnormal cell proliferation. In research it is used as a ‘tracer’ the glow it emits helps scientists be able to track organic, or non-organic substances through the body. This is the only method of studying such movements and actions that are made within the body. It can also be used in industrial setting to determine the thickness of metals or plastics by observing how much radiation they can stop. Another industrial use for RAI’s is using them to test how well things can stand corrosion or wear. So, as you can see there are a lot of important uses for RAI’s in industry, research, and medicine.
An example of how RAI’s work is how they cause radioactive decay. What happens is that they go and change the number of protons in the nucleus, and since it has decayed it can’t change back to the substance it once was since the number of protons define what the element is. As I mentioned earlier this process is used in the industrial field by companies who want to test their products for wear, and decay.



http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-radioaiso.html

http://serc.carleton.edu/quantskills/methods/quantlit/RadDecay.html