Vatsal desai Block 02 Mr. Berns Atomic Mass of Vegium Lab 1) Carbon-14, is useful in studying abnormalities of metabolism that

underlie diabetes, gout, anemia, and acromegaly. It is the isotope used in radiocarbon dating and radiolabeling. Radiocarbon dating is determining the age of different organic materials, by measuring the amount of carbon-14 in a material, compared to the amount of carbon-12. Carbon dating makes use of the fact that some atoms – radioactive atoms – change over time into other types of atoms in a natural process known as radioactive decay. 2) Americum-241, is used as a component in household and industrial smoke detectors, where a small amount is used in an ionization chamber inside the detector. Americium-241 is the only isotope of americium to have widespread commercial use. It is the radiation source for a number of applications: • medical diagnostic devices • research • fluid-density gauges • thickness gauges • aircraft fuel gauges distance-sensing devices, all of which utilize its gamma radiation. A mixture of americium-241 and beryllium provides a neutron source for industrial devices that monitor product quality. Two examples are devices for nondestructive testing of machinery and gauges for measuring the thickness of glass and other products. 3) Iodine-131, is used in nuclear medicine both diagnostically and therapeutically. Examples of its use in radiation therapy include the treatment of thyrotoxicosis and thyroid cancer. Diagnostic tests exploit the mechanism of absorption of iodine by the normal cells of the thyroid gland. As an example iodine-131 is one of the radioactive isotopes of iodine that can be used to test how well the thyroid gland is functioning. 4) Cobalt-60, The main uses are:

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As a tracer for cobalt in chemical reactions Sterilization of medical equipment. Radiation source for medical radiotherapy. Radiation source for industrial radiography. Radiation source for leveling devices and thickness gauges. Radiation source for pest insect sterilization. As a radiation source for food irradiation and blood irradiation. • As a radiation source for laboratory use. The creation of Co-60 is an important step in nucleosynthesis.Without the step through Co-60, no elements with atomic numbers from 27 through 83 could be created in supernovas.