Beta-rays

Nuclear. Mass can be determined directly by measuring changes in the absorption, reflection, or transmission of alpha- or beta-rays, which changes in proportion to the amount of material present. This method is primarily used to determine the mass of bulk material moving on a conveyor. The advantages include the following ... 

Beta-ray emission source and Geiger-Miiller counter... 

Beta 5 M. Continuous Particulate Emissions Monitor by Beta Ray Attenuation. Poissy. France Emission S, A. (199,5). 

Beta-naphtol, n. beta naphthol, /3-naphthol (2-naphthol). -strahlen. m.pl. beta rays, betatigen, v.t. operate put into operation, start prove, manifest.—v.r. prove participate (in). 

Dosimetry. Ion current measurements required for absolute dosimetry were performed with a Cary 31 ionization chamber and vibrating reed electrometer. Dry nitrogen was used as filling gas for the chamber, and a W value of 34.9 e.v./ion pair was assumed for H-3 beta rays in N2 (27). Deuterium pressures in each of the reaction mixtures were great enough to ensure that less than 1% of the H-3 beta rays reached the walls of the reaction vessel (7). 

The first person to identify the hydrogen ion as a component of all atoms was Ernest Rutherford. Rutherford had his hand in virtually every aspect of atomic research. By 1919, he had discovered alpha and beta rays, found a new element (radon), won a Nobel Prize for his work with radioactive elements, and demonstrated that atoms had nuclei. For good measure, in 1914, he was knighted. However, still more discoveries and honors awaited him. 

As early as 1902, Rutherford and his colleague, the chemist Frederick Soddy, realized that emissions of alpha and beta rays changed the nature of the emitting substance. One example of such a change is the spontaneous radioactive decay of the uranium-238 isotope, which emits an alpha particle and produces thorium ... 

A stream of alpha particles is sometimes called an alpha ray. A stream of beta particles is called a beta ray. A gamma ray is composed of a stream of gamma particles. 

A vulcanising agent particularly for silicone rubber and fluoroelastomers it has been used as a non-sulphur vulcanising agent for natural rubber. It is also a catalyst in emulsion polymerisation. Beta Rays... 

Streams of swiftly moving electrons given off by some radioactive substances they are used in beta ray gauges which give continuous measurement of the thickness of films of rubber or plastics. 

These are unstable forms of elements which decay by the emission of radiation. A radioactive isotope of an element behaves chemically in the same way as the non-radioactive form, but its radiation may be detected and measured by a suitable instrument. In the rubber industry radioactive isotopes are used in beta ray thickness gauges, in studying the precise role of sulphur in vulcanisation, in the speedy determination of tread wear in tyres, etc. See Beta Rays. 

Promethium produces beta rays (high-energy electrons). These beta rays are used to produce nuclear-powered batteries to provide electricity for spacecraft, as well as long-term usage for up to five years in regions without electricity. It also could be used as a source of portable X-rays, as a gauge to measure the thickness of various materials, and to produce special lasers that can communicate with submarines. 

Promethium-147 is used in the manufacture of luminescent paint for watch dials, as well as being a source of beta rays. 

III.b.1.6. Radioactive iodine. Radioactive iodine (Iodine-131) is a radioactive isotope of iodine, usually taken in an oral solution formulation as sodium 1. Given orally as sodium I, radioactive iodine is rapidly absorbed, concentrated and stored in the thyroid follicles. The therapeutic effect depends on beta-ray emission and destruction of thyroid parenchyma manifests some weeks after treatment. It is relatively safe, cheap, painless and avoids side effects associated with surgery. It is widely regarded as the treatment of choice in adults with toxic multinodular goiter, toxic nodule and people who relapse after a course of antithyroid medication. 

Alexander Smith Russell. Scottish chemist who discovered the effect of a beta-ray change on the atomic number of an element. Lecturer on inorganic chemistry at Oxford University. He has carried on chemical research, especially in radioactivity, in the laboratories of Soddy in Glasgow, of Nemst in Berlin, and of Rutherford in Manchester. His publications include many research papers, literary contributions, and a book on the chemistry of radioactive substances. 

Frederick Soddy, 1877-. Professor of chemistry at Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Oxford. Author of books on radioactivity and economics. He showed that when a radioactive element emits alpha particles, its position in the periodic table is shifted two spaces to the left, whereas a beta-ray change causes a shift of one space toward the right. This rule, which explains the existence of radioactive isotopes, was discovered independently by A. S. Russell, A. F. 

A. S. Russell, Carnegie Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow, soon discovered the following corollary to this rule The chemical properties of a beta-ray product correspond with those of an element whose group number is greater by one than that of its parent. 

Note Beta rays consist of a stream of negatively charged particles (electrons) emitted from radioactive substances with the velocity of light (186000 miles/sec or 2.99 10 °cm/sec). There are also alpha rays, which consist of a stream of positively charged particles emitted from radioactive substances with a speed of 20,000 miles/sec (1.922x10 cm/sec)... 

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