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A tracer, whether radioactive, or chemical, or a dye, should not interfere with the normal functioning of the system being studied. And should be observable.
In studying the transport of CO2 in plants, we used to manufacture an isotope of carbon, 11C, which had a half life of about 20 minutes. (We had to be a bit nippy in its manufacture and use!) This then, as CO2, transported through the plant as if it were normal CO2, making sugars etc, and the clever guys followed its passage with appropriate radioactivity counters.
Another use concerns breathing, in which the subject breathes a slightly radioactive gas, and its passage is followed by a complex set of detectors. It is quite something to see, on a screen, your lungs breathing in and out, and to observe a blank portion of them that is not, for no gas is reaching this region! I trust you never have to experience this procedure.
[Another class of tracers is the radio opaque materials which are dense as seen by x-rays. These are often used to study the flow of blood through your body, to detect embolisms, and blockages in the veins etc.]
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What radioactive element is in nuclear reactions?
i think it is uranium
An example of an Radioactive tracer?
iodine 123 for looking at kidney function. or Technicium 99 a gamma source. there are other beta sources used for leak finding in industrial pipes
What is the amount of radioactive material needed to sustain a chain reaction in order to provide useful energy called?
The critical mass.
What property of radioactive elements make them useful for determining absolute age?
Igneous rock. If you are in FIS you know me. O.K.
The characteristic of the radioactive isotope uranium-238 that makes this isotope useful for accurately dating the age of a rock is the isotope's BLANK?
constant half-life
How does radioactive tracer get into the body?
They dissolve it in a liquid and the patient drinks it
Radioactive isotopes that can be followed through a chemical reaction or a industrial process is?
tracer
How much radioactive tracer is injected into the vein for a typical bone scan?
About 1 Mg.
What is the only difference between ELISA and RIA?
RIA measures scintillation due to decay of radioactive tracer. ELISA measures a color change due to an enzyme tracer.
Nuclear medicine uses these to image organs for diagnosis and treatment?
radioactive material called a tracer
Would a substance with a one second life be effective as a radioactive tracer?
the dog ate the bacon
What is a radioactive tracer and give an example of how one might be used?
A radioactive tracer is a radioactive atom inserted in a compound to see what happens to it in a reaction, usually in biotechnology. For example, to find out where carbon atoms go in photosynthesis, scientists can give the plants carbon dioxide with carbon-14 instead of carbon-12 and track the progress of the carbon-14.
What is a radioactive tracer Give an example of how one might be used.?
A radioactive tracer is a radioactive atom inserted in a compound to see what happens to it in a reaction, usually in biotechnology. For example, to find out where carbon atoms go in photosynthesis, scientists can give the plants carbon dioxide with carbon-14 instead of carbon-12 and track the progress of the carbon-14.
Would a substance with a one-second half-life be effective as a radioactive tracer?
the dog ate the bacon
A tracer is a radioactive element whose pathway through the steps of a chemical reaction can be followed?
Yes a tracer is a radioactive element whose pathway through the steps of a chemical reaction can be followed. It can be used to explore the mechanism of chemical reactions by tracing the path that the radioisotope follows from reactants to products.
What are some ways that technetium is used?
The isomer Tc-99m is largely used as tracer for radiodiagnostic.The isotope Tc-99 is used to make standardized beta emitter sources.Technetium has useful properties but it is difficult to be used in other fields of technology because is radioactive.
How dangerous is technetium?
Technetium is not really dangerous. Since doctors will often use Technetium 99 as a radioactive tracer. It may be radioactive but its decay is slow and will produce a minute amount of gamma rays.
