Give two examples of each of how radioactivity is useful and how it is harmful?
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Helpful:\n1. treatment of cancer\n2. used to produce electricity\n3. xrays...used for diagnosis\n\nHarmful:\n1. major cause of cancer\n2. radiation poisoning
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In Japan a few years ago the workers at one facility were carrying radioactive solutions in buckets from one place to another where they put so much of it that it started having nuclear reactions from reaching a critical amount.  This was amazing news, but it happens that the people doing mundane, dirty, or high exposure work often know little and are only following or misfollowing instructions of more knowledgeable scientists who are not always there to prevent mistakes.\n\nAlso, one time in the USA, out west, a man was working on a reactor and, they say, everyone had been told not to remove a certain vital control rod.  But he did, and instantly the reactor exploded, releasing radioactive contaminants inside the containment.  The mans body was found on the ceiling impaled by the control rod.\n\nThat sounds like a made up story, I know, but I have heard it told about three times from VERY reputable and different sources.\n\nAnother time was during the testing of fissionable materials in the laboratory at Los Alamos where the first atom bombs were developed.\n\nOne scientist was investigating critical mass by bringing two hemispheres or pieces of fissionable materials slowly closer to each other on some kind of track.  He got them too close and did not get them apart fast enough.  The radiation exposure was so intense he died shortly after that, also I believe one other person who was in the room.
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http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/radiation/dir/mstreet/commeet/meet1/brief1/br1j.txt\n\nThe first 3 are covered there.
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Check out this website it will tell you all you would ever want to know about radon and any other element.\n\nhttp://www.lenntech.com/Periodic-chart-elements/Rn-en.htm
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There are many chemical elements had a medicinal uses,platinum, radioactive isotopes of elements (iodine, carbon 13)which used in cancer therapy or as a tracer in identification of sickness,also chemical elements used as disinfectants for medicinal purposes, in general all medicines are chemicals formulated for therapy and specific chemical element played the major role in the therapy.
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Radioactivity deep within the earth provides a constant supply of heat that prevents the earth from cooling.  The heat given up by radioactive decay within the mantle is trapped and helps keep the mantle hot or even molten.  Although this contributes to volcanoes and earthquakes, it also helps recycle the earth's crust.  For example, it is believed that the earth at one time had no atmosphere or perhaps lost it.  Recycling the earth's crust freed up carbon dioxide and plant life (at first microbial) converted the carbon dioxide to the oxygen we breath.\n\nStrong radioactive sources are used to expose X-ray film to check the quality of metal welds in large pipe joints.  Very small samples are used to ionize air that permits smoke detectors to in fact detect smoke, saving countless lives.
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If it were not for concerns about the health effects of\nradiation, nuclear energy would have developed quite\ndifferently.\nRadiation is not new. Although it was discovered and\nnamed as recently as 1896, we and our ancestors have\nlived with it since the beginning of time. The earth is\nnaturally radioactive, so is the air we breathe, the\nfood we eat and the ground we stand on. It is only\nwhen we are subjected to relatively large doses of\nradiation that it becomes a danger to life or health.\nModern science has allowed us to develop safe ways\nof using radiation, and of exploiting its properties for\nthe benefit of mankind. Many valuable applications\nhave been developed:\n􀁺 nuclear medicine, especially the use of X-rays\n􀁺 use of radiation to develop drugs for people with\ndiabetes, arthritis or high blood pressure\ntreatment of car tyres with radioactive materials to\nmake them more durable and puncture-resistant\nradioactive sources in photocopiers to stop the\npaper sticking together.\nThese are just a few examples. We benefit from a\nlarge range of products and services made possible by\nradioactive materials, often without even realising it.\nEverything in the world, from the air we breathe to\nthe cars we drive, is made up of atoms\nSome atoms are ‘stable’ – an ordinary carbon atom,\nwith six protons and six neutrons, will stay that way\nuntil the end of the universe unless something\ndramatic happens to it, such as being absorbed by the\nsun. Others are unstable – for example, their nuclei\nmay be too big to hold together – so they shake off\nparticles and surplus energy from their nucleus until\nthey become stable. The process of shaking off these\nparticles and energy is called ‘radioactivity’, and the\nparticles and energy which are released are known as\n‘nuclear radiation’. The process is often called\n‘radioactive decay’, since over time the radioactive\nmaterial breaks up and changes into other more stable\natoms, sometimes through several radioactive\nintermediate stages. The process can take fractions of\na second or billions of years depending on the\nradioactive material involved, but in each case the\nradioactivity of the material falls steadily.\nThere are different types of radiation, and not all\ninvolve radioactive decay. The type of radiation we\nare looking at in this booklet is ‘ionising radiation’,\nand includes artificially made X-rays (which do not\narise from radioactive decay). When this type of\nradiation bumps into other matter, it produces\nelectrically charged particles, known as ‘ions’.\nIonisation causes chemical changes in materials, and\ncan affect our bodies as well as the things around us.\nIn high quantities, ionising radiation can damage\nliving tissue and even destroy human cells. This can\nbe beneficial in some circumstances – for example,\nradiotherapy is used in the treatment of cancer, the\nradiation being used to kill cancerous cells, leaving\nother cells nearby relatively unharmed. In this sense,\nradiation is rather like a surgeon’s scalpel. Usedcarefully it can provide many benefits and can enable\nus to live longer, healthier, more comfortable lives,\nalthough it can be dangerous if misused.\nWhen we refer elsewhere in this booklet to ‘radiation’\nwe mean ionising radiation. However, there are nonionising\nradiations, such as low energy\nelectromagnetic radiation (which includes light, infrared,\nradio waves and electrical and magnetic fields\nfrom power pylons), which are not normally\ndangerous.\nThere are several types of ionising radiation, of which\nthe most important are:\n􀁺 α (alpha): streams of atomic particles (helium\nnuclei) made up of two protons and two neutrons\nwith a positive charge (+2). By atomic standards\nthese are quite big chunks of matter, so they are\nvery easily stopped. They cannot pass through\npaper, for example, or through the dead outer layer\nof our skin. However, if materials emitting alpha
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1) False- NOBLE\n2) True\n3) False- RIGHT \n4) False- INACTIVE\n5) False- ARGON\n6) True ? (There is also the unnamed ununoctium At. #118)\n7) False- RADON\n8) True\n\nYou should really do your own homework
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Forty-odd years ago it was okay for undergraduates to do experiments with radioactive sources.  The laboratory had lots and lots of lead bricks, for the students to build a wall to shield their bodies from these radiation sources during the experiment.  The commonest accident was dropping a lead brick on your foot.
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Be careful.\n\nThat environment can be dangerous.
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Zirconium is used in orthopedic medicine (1).\nYttrium 90 emits beta radiation that can kill tumor cells when tagged (2).\nHafnium is more of a health hazard due to its fine particles.\nYttrium and Scandium may be used in laser surgery or procedure (3).
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http://www.burtonreport.com/InfForensic/HumanExperPlutonium.htm\n\n\nhttp://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/radiation/dir/mstreet/commeet/meet10/brief10/tab_i/br10i2j.txt
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Keep in mind, I'm not a nuclear Engineer or a nuclear specialist.  I haven't studied nuclear physics since college 10 years ago.\n\nRadiation in any form is dangerous.  It is just whether the benfits outweigh the potential ill side effects.\n\nRadiation is actually caused by the decay of a radiactive subtance.  Radiation takes three forms, alpha, beta, and gamma radiation.\n\nAlpha radiation consists of 2 protons and 2 neutrons.  Alpha particles are slow and can not penetrate much.  This type of radiation can be stopped by something as thin as a sheet of paper or clothing.\n\nBeta radiation is actually an electron.  While beta radiation penetrates more than alpha radiation, it is still weak.  It can be stopped by thin metals, such as a sheet of foil.\nGamma radiation is the radiation that is very deadly.  Gamma radiation is actually a wave and not a particle.  It can only be stopped by thick layers of dirt, concrete, or lead.\n\nDuring nuclear fallout, a person doesn’t become radioactive per se.  What happens is the dust and particles collected on their clothing emits radiation.  You may have heard of radiation suits.  Radiation suits do not stop radiation, rather their purpose is to prevent radioactive particles from becoming embedded in hair, skin, or clothing.  Once the person gets away from the contaminated area, they wash the suit, disrobe, and (my guess) run like hell.\n\nRadiation sickness is caused by an overdose of radiation.  The danger of radiation is that it kills the cells of any living thing that it strikes.  This can be beneficial in a medical setting like when a radiation beam is used to kill cancer cells in a patient.  However, when a person is exposed to uncontrolled radiation over a prolonged period of time, many of the cells in their body are killed.  Just like anything else, dead things begin to decay and rot.  Radiation sickness is essentially the body becoming poisoned and weak from the loss of cells and decaying cells in their body.\n\nWithout adequate protection during radiation fallout, radioactive particles become ingested, inhaled, and embedded on the skin.  \n\nI hope this helps a little
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Self-ionization of water:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-ionization_of_water\n\nneutralization reactions:  http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/183neutral.html\n\nProcess of titration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titration\n\nIsomers:  http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/1organic/isomers.html\n\nAs for the half-life problems, here is a formula for calculating those problems:\n\nX = C(0.5)^(N/H)\n\nC = the number of whatever radioactive chemical is being used\nH = the chemical's half-life\nN = How many hears this chemical has been/will be active
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Radiowaves do hardly anything. No harm\nMicrowaves and infrared heat your body\nVisible light makes you visible and psychological healthy.\nUltraviolet can make you blind.\nX- and gamma rays go throught your body and make damage.\nFrom up to down, the more dangerous.\n\nFor all EMW: the more intensity, the more dangerous.\nthe more time of radiation, the more dangerous.\nThe closer to the source of the radiation, the more dangerous.
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Maybe you are asking for Uranium decay?\n\nCheck this link  http://www.ieer.org/fctsheet/uranium.html
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_contamination\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_camera\nhttp://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/radiation/reg-matls.html