As I mentioned in my last blog post, I will be talking about the nuclear leak incident that recently happened in Japan. But first, we need to understand what is radioactivity.
Radioactivity is the emission of energetic particles or waves from atoms. Radiation happens when unstable nuclei transform to some other nucleus by emitting radiation. In other words, radioactivity causes radiation. However, induced radiation often occurs when electrons which have been excited lose energy in the form of X-rays or microwaves, such as in dentist offices, microwave ovens, and radar. As this is applicable to nuclear energy, many substances created during the operation of a nuclear reactor are unstable. As they decay over varying lengths of time, they emit energetic particles or waves. This is known as radioactive decay, when an atomic nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting ionizing particles.
Thus, I can conclude that radioactivity is a property of some unstable nuclei whereby they break up spontaneously into nuclei of other elements and emit radiation, a process known as radioactivity decay.
There are three types of radiation emitted by radioactive elements-streams of alpha particles ( alpha rays), streams of beta particles ( beta rays) and gamma rays..
Alpha particles-Positively-charged particles ejected from some radioactive nuclei. They are relatively heavy ( two protons and neutrons), move relatively slowly and have a low penetrating power.
Beta particles-Particles ejected from some radioactive nuclei at about the speed of light, There are two types-electrons and positrons, which have the same mass as electrons, but a positive charge.
Gamma rays-Invisible electromagnetic waves. They have the highest penetrating power, and are generally though not always emitted from a radioactive nucleus after an alpha or beta particle.
After reading this, I hope you understand on radioactivity! Now on to the main topic, Japan's nuclear incident.
Citation/Bibliography
http://www.whatisnuclear.com/articles/radioactivity.html
The Usborne Illustrated Dictionary of Science
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