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radioactive isotope, also called radioisotope, any of several species of the same chemical element with different masses whose nuclei are unstable and dissipate excess energy by spontaneously emitting radiation in the form of alpha, beta, and gamma rays.

Every chemical element has one or more radioactive isotopes. For example, hydrogen, the lightest element, has three isotopes with mass numbers 1, 2, and 3. Only hydrogen-3 (tritium), however, is a radioactive isotope, the other two being stable. More than 1,000 radioactive isotopes of the various elements are known. Approximately 50 of these are found in nature; the rest are produced artificially as the direct products of nuclear reactions or indirectly as the radioactive descendants of these products.

Radioactive nuclides, or radionuclides, are species of unstable atomic nuclei without the restriction of being forms of the same element. Radioactive nuclides consist of all the sets of radioactive isotopes.

Radioactive isotopes have many useful applications. In medicine, for example, cobalt-60 is extensively employed as a radiation source to arrest the development of cancer. Other radioactive isotopes are utilized as tracers for diagnostic purposes, as well as in research on metabolic processes. When a radioactive isotope is added in small amounts to comparatively large quantities of the stable element, it behaves exactly the same as the ordinary isotope chemically; it can, however, be traced with a Geiger counter or other detection device. Iodine-131 has proved effective in locating brain tumours, measuring cardiac output, and determining liver and thyroid activity. Another medically important radioactive isotope is carbon-14, which is useful in studying abnormalities of metabolism that underlie Diabetes, gout, anemia, and acromegaly.

In industry, radioactive isotopes of various kinds are used for measuring the thickness of metal or plastic sheets; their precise thickness is indicated by the strength of the radiations that penetrate the material being inspected. They also may be employed in place of large X-ray machines to examine manufactured metal parts for structural defects. Other significant applications include the use of radioactive isotopes as compact sources of electrical power-e.g., plutonium-238 in cardiac pacemakers and spacecraft. In such cases, the heat produced in the decay of the radioactive isotope is converted into electricity by means of thermoelectric junction circuits or related devices.

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Related Questions

Why is silver radioactive?

Silver itself is not radioactive. However, certain isotopes of silver can be radioactive. For example, silver-108 and silver-110 are radioactive isotopes with long half-lives that can undergo radioactive decay. These isotopes are not commonly found in nature.


What element has all of their isotopes radioactive?

An example is uranium.


Is astatine an example of radioactive element?

Yes. There are no stable isotopes of astatine, they are all radioactive.


What are isotopes considered radioactive?

Not all isotopes are radioactive; the radioactive isotopes are unstable and emit radiations.


How are radioactive isotopes different from isotopes?

Both isotopes and radioactive isotopes are pretty much the same but radioactive isotopes are better because it can be used to make medicine.


Does sodium contain radioactive isotopes?

Sodium has no radioactive isotopes.


Does radioactive isotopes have a stable nuclei?

Radioactive isotopes are not stable.


Example of isotopes?

One example of isotopes is carbon-12 (12C) and carbon-14 (14C). These isotopes have the same number of protons, but different numbers of neutrons. Carbon-12 is stable and commonly found in nature, while carbon-14 is radioactive and used for carbon dating.


Is the parent element always radioactive in a nuclear reaction?

No, the parent element in a nuclear reaction is not always radioactive. While many parent isotopes are indeed radioactive and decay into stable or unstable daughter isotopes, there are also stable isotopes that can undergo nuclear reactions without being radioactive themselves. For example, stable isotopes can be involved in nuclear reactions such as neutron capture or fusion, but they do not decay over time like radioactive isotopes.


Does plutonium have isotopes that are all radioactive?

All the uranium isotopes are radioactive.


What happens to all radioactive isotopes?

All radioactive isotopes will disintegrate.


Pollutant not created by fossil fuels?

One example of a deadly pollutant not created by fossil fuels is highly toxic radioactive waste, which is the bi-product of using radioactive isotopes.