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When 60Co decays by beta- decay it produces 60Ni.

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What is the beta decay for copper-66?

Cu decays by either negative or positive beta emission. The equation for the negative beta decay of 64Cu is: 2964Cu --> 3064Zn + -10e where -10e represents a negative beta particle or electron. The equation for the positive beta decay of 64Cu is: 2964Cu --> 2864Ni + 10e where 10e represents a positive beta particle or positron.


Is it conceivable that nuclear energy could be extracted from mundane crystals by aiming a neutron beam right at each nucleus of the crystal?

Original answerNo, it isn't conceivable to obtain nuclear energy from crystals (or anything else that is "mundane") by bombarding them with neutrons. At least not for fuel for power generation. All you will succeed in doing is getting the nuclei of the atoms of the materials to absorb some of the neutrons, and this will make the nuclei unstable. When we get materials to absorb neutrons, we call that activation. And if we activate something, it almost always becomes radioactive. Let's look at that for a second. Jump with me.We take a specific amount of natural cobalt (59Co) in the form of a metal slug and drop it into an operating reactor via a special port. Then the 59Co sits in the neutron bath and absorbs a neutron (it becomes activated) to become 60Co. 60Co is highly radioactive, but we did this on purpose. We now extract the little slug of 60Co and park it inside a lead casket with a special door on it. The 60Co has now become what is called a source. It is radioactive like a big dog and will zap the heck out of whatever it is exposed to. We now drag this special rig out to a big job site where steel is being welded together and use the source to x-ray welds. We park film on one side of the pipe or whatever and park our source on the other side. Then we open the door by remote control. After we wait a short while, we then shut the door and recover and develop our film. This is convenient since we don't have to try to drag an x-ray machine out there. It's a useful thing like that. But it's nasty. Radioactive nasty. And it ain't fuel or an energy source for obtaining needed power. Back to the topic.If we activate "mundane" stuff willy nilly, all we end up with is a bunch of radioactive stuff. We can activate things and make them into fuel. We make plutonium for fuel (or bombs) by activation. But making fuel by activating "mundane" stuff ain't happenin' round these parts, partner. So we don't try.Additional InformationYes. But not just any "mundane" crystal. Nor simply because it is a crystal. And not by aiming a beam at the nucleus (which is not technically feasable).There is a type of reactor called and Accelerator Driven System (ADS) or Energy Amplifier (EA), which was invented by Carlo Rubbia, who is a Nobel Prize winner and was the head of CERN at one point. The technology has been tested in a variety of ways, but a plant using it has yet to be built. There are various projects underway throughout the world to do this, notably in Norway.The way an EA works is this: A proton accelerator aims a beam of protons at a spallation target. This target can be made of any of a number of the heavier elements, but lead is a good material for use. When a fast-moving proton collides with a lead nucleus, a cascade of neutrons comes off. These are rather energetic.The neutrons move through a bath of fuel. Thorium-232 dissolved in lead is a good possibility for this, though high-level nuclear waste is another possibility.If a neutron of correct velocity collides with the nucleus of a thorium-232 atom, it will be captured to produce uranium-233, undergoes fission (almost immediately in the neutron rich environment) to produce heat and any of various fission products.There are a number of other things that are interesting gooin on here. When a neutron collides with the nucleus of an atom, it can really cause any of three things to happen. It can impart some of its energy to the atom, heating the atom, with the neutron losing energy and going off to collide with something else. It can be captured by the atom, producing a different isotope of the same element. It can cause the atom to undergo decay by any of a number of decay types. The more unstable the atom is, the more likely it is that a collision will cause decay. The net effect of this is that radioactive isotopes are reduced in such a situation, through their decay chains, much faster than would happen in nature.The EA promises to be a much safer way of getting power than conventional power plants, being incapable of a meltdown and incapable of being used to make nuclear bombs. It is expected to cost about 10% as much to build, for a given output. It should be able to use thorium, which we have a several millennia supply of, or nuclear waste for power. It should leave nearly no waste of its own, and what it does leave should be reduced to safe levels within five hundred years.


Related Questions

What was the main pollutant released at chernobyl?

90Cs and 60Co


Why did people stop using radium in medicines?

Because other radioactive isotopes (as 60Co, 137Cs, etc.) are cheaper and more efficient.


How many radium is used in medecine?

Now radium is extremely rarely used for the radiotherapy of cancers; the isotopes 60Co and 137Cs are cheaper and more efficient.


What is the nuclear symbol for a radioactive isotope of copper with a mass number of 60?

Cobalt-60 is one way of writing the isotopic notation however this is the notation that you must be searching for (it is hard to write on this site): 60Co 33


What is the beta decay for copper-66?

Cu decays by either negative or positive beta emission. The equation for the negative beta decay of 64Cu is: 2964Cu --> 3064Zn + -10e where -10e represents a negative beta particle or electron. The equation for the positive beta decay of 64Cu is: 2964Cu --> 2864Ni + 10e where 10e represents a positive beta particle or positron.


What is the nuclear decay equation for cesium-137?

The equation for the beta decay of 60Co is: 2760Co --> 2860Ni + -10e where the -10e is a negative beta particle or electron.


What total mass of a 16 gram sample of 60co will remain unchanged after 15.8 years?

The half-life of 27Co60 is about 5.27 years. 15.8 years is 3 half-lives, so 0.53 or 0.125 of the original sample of 16 g will remain, that being 2 g.


What is Fe-60?

It's most likely 60Fe, also written iron-60, which is an isotope of iron with 60 nucleons (protons and neutrons). It doesn't occur in nature to any significant degree. It's radioactive with a half-life of about 2.5 million years and decays via beta emission to 60Co.


What is Fe 60?

It's most likely 60Fe, also written iron-60, which is an isotope of iron with 60 nucleons (protons and neutrons). It doesn't occur in nature to any significant degree. It's radioactive with a half-life of about 2.5 million years and decays via beta emission to 60Co.


What is the mass number of an atom with 27 protons 33 neutrons and 27 electrons?

The mass number of an atom is the sum of its protons and neutrons. In this case, the atom has 27 protons and 33 neutrons, so the mass number would be 27 + 33 = 60.


What has the author B P Smith written?

B. P. Smith has written: 'A description of 60Co gamma irradiation facilities in the Radiation Biology and Health Physics Branch' -- subject(s): Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River Laboratories. Radiation Biology and Health Physics Branch, Gamma rays, Nuclear energy, Research


Discuss with the use of examples the main differences between alpha and beta decay?

In alpha decay, an alpha particle (a helium nucleus - 2p+ and 2n0) is emitted from the nucleus of an atom. In beta decay, a neutron turns into a proton and an electron, and the electron (beta particle) is emitted from the nucleus of the atom.