uses of the isotopes

All isotopes of a substance have the same chemical properties and behave in an identical manner. The advantage of a radioisotope is that its position can be detected very easily by the radiation which it emits. It has wide applications in various fields lik..

The optical microscopes developed in physics are extensively used in the study of biological samples. Electron microscope, X-rays and radio isotopes are used widely in medical scienc..

(i) Radioactive dating This gives us an approximate age of the rock or material containing the radioactive atoms. For e.g., A measurement of a fraction of uranium atom which have decayed into lead (by knowing the half life of uranium) tells us how old the rock is. (ii) Radiation from space conve..

The mass of 1/12 th 12 C isotope of carbon is now the standard used for defining one atomic mass unit (a.m.u). It is equal to 1.66 x 10 -24..

This law was proposed by Louis Proust in 1799, which states that: 'A chemical compound always consists of the same elements combined together in the same ratio, irrespective of the method of preparation or the source from where it is taken'. For example, water is always found to contain only two e..

Natural uranium contains very little (0.72%) of its fissionable isotope 2 3 5 U needs to be enriched in the latter to be useful as a fuel in nuclear reactor. A breeder reactor is one that produces more fissionable nuclei than it consume..

Radio isotopes are used in detection of diseases and also in radio therapy: The rays from radium is used in the treatment of skin diseases. Radiation from Co 6 0 ( - rays) is used to diagnose and treat thyroid disorders. Radio iodine (I 1 3 1 ) ..

Proposed by Dalton in 1803, this law states that: 'When two elements combine to form two or more compounds, then the different masses of one element, which combine with a fixed mass of the other, bear a simple ratio to one another'. This law is evident when one element combines with another to giv..

All radioactive decays follow first order kinetics. Therefore, the half-life of a radioactive element is independent of the amount of sample. With the help of half-life values of a suitable radioisotope of an element, which is present in a rock, or in an artefact, the age of the rock and the artefa..

The determination of age of minerals and rocks involves determination of either a species formed during a radioactive decay or of the residual activity of an isotope which is undergoing decay. The former is illustrated by helium dating. Helium present in uranium mineral is almost certainl..