How is radiation used every day?

Answer 1

There are many practical applications to the use of radioactivity/radiation. Radioactive sources are used to study living organisms, to diagnose and treat diseases, to sterilize medical instruments and food, to produce energy for heat and electric power, and to monitor various steps in all types of industrial processes.

Tracers are a common application of radioisotopes. A tracer is a radioactive element whose pathway through which a chemical reaction can be followed. Tracers such as Iodine-131 are commonly used in the medical field to study the function of the thyroid gland assisting in detecting disease.

Nuclear reactors are devices that control fission reactions producing new substances from the fission product and energy. Nuclear power stations use uranium in fission reactions as a fuel to produce energy. Steam is generated by the heat released during the fission process. It is this steam that turns a turbine to produce electric energy.

Sterilization of medical instruments and food is another common application of radiation. By subjecting the instruments and food to concentrated beams of radiation, we can kill microorganisms that cause contamination and disease. Because this is done with high energy radiation sources using electromagnetic energy, there is no fear of residual radiation.