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    The Interactions of Alpha

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    Joseph Manase
    Radiation detectors measure ionization produced by alpha, beta, and gamma radiations interacting with matter. Early detectors used photographic plates, while Geiger-Muller counters now consist of a tube filled with gas that becomes conductive when impacted by radiation, releasing electrons and ions. Nuclear reactions involve atoms colliding and losing mass, with the lost mass appearing as energy according to Einstein's equation. Fission splits heavy nuclei like uranium and fusion combines light nuclei like hydrogen; both release energy but fusion yields more due to greater mass conversion.

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    The Interactions of Alpha

    Uploaded by

    Joseph Manase
    14 views4 pages
    Radiation detectors measure ionization produced by alpha, beta, and gamma radiations interacting with matter. Early detectors used photographic plates, while Geiger-Muller counters now consist of a tube filled with gas that becomes conductive when impacted by radiation, releasing electrons and ions. Nuclear reactions involve atoms colliding and losing mass, with the lost mass appearing as energy according to Einstein's equation. Fission splits heavy nuclei like uranium and fusion combines light nuclei like hydrogen; both release energy but fusion yields more due to greater mass conversion.

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    The interactions of alpha

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    Radiation detectors measure ionization produced by alpha, beta, and gamma radiations interacting with matter. Early detectors used photographic plates, while Geiger-Muller counters now consist of a tube filled with gas that becomes conductive when impacted by radiation, releasing electrons and ions. Nuclear reactions involve atoms colliding and losing mass, with the lost mass appearing as energy according to Einstein's equation. Fission splits heavy nuclei like uranium and fusion combines light nuclei like hydrogen; both release energy but fusion yields more due to greater mass conversion.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    14 views4 pages

    The Interactions of Alpha

    Uploaded by

    Joseph Manase
    Radiation detectors measure ionization produced by alpha, beta, and gamma radiations interacting with matter. Early detectors used photographic plates, while Geiger-Muller counters now consist of a tube filled with gas that becomes conductive when impacted by radiation, releasing electrons and ions. Nuclear reactions involve atoms colliding and losing mass, with the lost mass appearing as energy according to Einstein's equation. Fission splits heavy nuclei like uranium and fusion combines light nuclei like hydrogen; both release energy but fusion yields more due to greater mass conversion.

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    The interactions of alpha, beta, and gamma radiations with matter produce

    positively charged ions and electrons. Radiation detectors are devices that
    measure this ionization and produce an observable output. Early detectors
    used photographic plates to detect "tracks" left by nuclear interactions.
    1. GEIGER MULLER COUNTER
    The counter consists of a tube filled with an inert gas that becomes
    conductive of electricity when it is impacted by a high-energy particle.
    When a Geiger counter is exposed to ionizing radiation, the particles
    penetrate the tube and collide with the gas, releasing more electrons.
    Positive ions exit the tube and the negatively charged electrons become
    attracted to a high-voltage middle wire.
    It can detect alpha, beta, and gamma radiation although it cannot
    distinguish between them. Because of this and other limitations, it is best
    used for demonstrations or for radiation environments where only a rough
    estimate of the amount of radioactivity is needed
    This instrument is limited by its ineffectiveness for detecting lower energy
    beta and gamma emitters
    NOTE: Radioactivity can be measured in order to discover the amount of
    radiation a material emits or the amount of radiation absorbed by a human
    or mammal. The unit for measuring radioactive emissions is the Becquerel
    (Bq). The Bq indicates the number of decays per second.

    NUCLEAR REACTIONS
    A nuclear reaction is a process in which atoms collide with other atoms
    and lose some of their original mass. Because of the principle of energy
    conservation the lost mass must reappear as generated energy, according
    to Einstein's equation E = mc².
    The two types of nuclear reactions used to produce energy are fission and
    fusion.

    In a fission reaction, a heavy atomic nucleus is split into smaller nuclei,


    other particles and radiation. In a typical reaction, an atom of uranium 235
    absorbs a neutron and splits into two lighter atoms, barium and krypton,
    emitting radiation and neutrons. Under special circumstances (the
    attainment of a "critical mass") the emitted neutrons can split further
    atoms, which in turn bring about more splitting, producing a very fast
    chain reaction. Nuclear power plants exploit the process of fission to
    create energy.
    In a fusion reaction, two or more light atomic nuclei fuse to form a single
    heavier nucleus. The mass change in the process is the source of nuclear
    energy. Fusion within the cores of the sun and other stars generates their
    radiating energy by fusing two hydrogen atoms to produce a helium atom.
    The fusion of deuterium with tritium creates helium-4, frees a remaining
    neutron, and releases energy. Because E=MC2, when two atoms are
    fused, a very small amount of mass can be converted into a large amount
    of energy.
    Fusion reactions are accompanied by a much greater mass to energy
    conversion than in fission reactions.

    Nuclear fusion requires extremely high temperatures. This is because the


    small nuclei require enough kinetic energy to overcome their electrostatic
    repulsion. The energy we receive from the sun is from nuclear fusion. The
    sun is made up mainly of hydrogen and helium. Within the sun the
    temperature is millions of degrees Celsius, there is the constant fusion of
    small nuclei into larger nuclei.

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