Question

Write the uses of radioactive substances.

Answer 1

Hint: The substances which have unstable nuclei undergo decay and form stable nuclei. These types of substances are called radioactive substances. In the decay process, radioactive elements emit radiation in the form of alpha, beta and gamma rays.

Complete step by step solution:
-A lot of radioisotopes are available in nature.
-The best example of a radioactive element is uranium-235.
-Radioactive elements have a lot of applications.
-Radioactive elements are used in industries as tracers to detect leaks and corrosion processes in the metals.
-Radioactive elements used in oil and gas industries to find the number of oil fields.
-Radioactive elements used in the medical field as an imaging agent in nuclear medicine.
-In nuclear medicine radioactive elements used to treat certain types of cancers.
-Ga-68, is a radioactive element used as a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) imaging agent.
-Using radioactive elements we can find the thickness of the sheet materials in textiles and plastic industries.
-To determine the age of the rocks carbon dating is used.
-Iodine-131 radioactive element is used to treat thyroid.
-By using radioactive elements electricity also can be generated.
-Radium is a radioactive element used in watch dials to glow in the dark.

Note: There are a lot of radioactive elements available in nature and a few man-made radioactive elements are also present. The man-made radioactive elements are F-18, Ga-68, Tc-99m. After decay, radioactive elements produce some elements called daughter elements and they are stable in nature.