Half-lives of radioisotopes

The half-life (t1 ) of a radioisotope is the amount of time it takes for that isotope to undergo radioactive decay and be converted into another. It is also a measure of the stability of the isotope the shorter its half-life, the less stable the isotope. The half-life of radioisotopes ranges from fractions of a second for the most unstable to billions of years for isotopes that are only weakly radioactive. In the case of radiocarbon (carbon-14), for example, the half-life is 5730 years (see Fig. 61). 

The half-life of radioisotope, 131I, is 8.05 days. Calculate the mean life of that isotope. 

There is no simple conversion between radioactivity (e.g., Ci) and the other dimensions regarding dose since the quantity of radiation absorbed will depend upon the amount of radiation that actually interacts with tissue (which could be assumed to be 100% for an internal absorption but would be much less for an external exposure), the duration of the exposure, the half-life of radioisotope, and the type of radiation (a, p, y, X ray, or neutron). 

Element determined Nuclear reaction used Threshold energy (MeV) Half life of radioisotope produced (min)... 

Thirty isotopes are recognized. Only one stable isotope, 1271 is found in nature. The artificial radioisotope 1311, with a half-life of 8 days, has been used in treating the thyroid gland. The most common compounds are the iodides of sodium and potassium (KI) and the iodates (KIOs). Lack of iodine is the cause of goiter. 

Radiocarbon dating (43) has probably gained the widest general recognition (see Radioisotopes). Developed in the late 1940s, it depends on the formation of the radioactive isotope and its decay, with a half-life of 5730 yr. After forms in the upper stratosphere through nuclear reactions of... 

Safety. The principal concerns regarding nuclear medical imaging are those associated with the radiopharmaceuticals. Much research has gone into the selection of radiopharmaceuticals exhibiting minimal toxicities, rapid elimination from the body, and short half-life. The radioisotope must be... 

Most areas of research and appHcations involving the use of radioisotopes require a knowledge of what radiations come from each isotope. The particular apphcation determines what type of information is needed. If the quantity of a radionuchde in a particular sample or at a particular location is to be deterrnined and this value is to be deterrnined from the y-ray spectmm, the half-life of the nucHde and the energies and intensities or emission probabiUties of the y-rays of interest must be known. Usually it is preferable to use the y-rays for an assay measurement because the d- and P-rays ate much more readily absorbed by the source material, and may not reach the sample surface having their original energies. Once these energies are altered they caimot be used to identify the parent radionuchde. 

The radioisotopes Tc and I (see Table 16) are often used for medical purposes. Tc has a half-life of only 6 h, which would normally make it difficult to transport from a production facility to the medical facility. However, one can supply the longer-lived 2.7-d Mo in a chemical form that allows one to separate out, generate or milk, the daughter iTc when the latter is needed. 

Sodium is used as a heat-transfer medium in primary and secondary cooling loops of Hquid-metal fast-breeder power reactors (5,155—157). Low neutron cross section, short half-life of the radioisotopes produced, low corrosiveness, low density, low viscosity, low melting point, high boiling point, high thermal conductivity, and low pressure make sodium systems attractive for this appHcation (40). 

Because normal radioisotopic decay lowers the thermal output by about 2.5%/yr in these units, they are purposefully overdesigned for beginning of life conditions. Several of these generators have successfully operated for as long as 28 years. This is approximately equal to the half-life of the strontium-90 isotope used in the heat sources. The original SNAP-7 series immobilized the strontium-90 as the titanate, but the more recent ones have used it in the form of the fluoride, which is also very stable. A number of tiny nuclear-powered cardiac pacemaker batteries were developed, which have electrical power outputs of 33—600 p.W and have been proven in use (17). 

All radioactive isotopes decay with a characteristic half-life. For example, Fe decays with a half-life of 45 days, while Cu decays with a half-life of 12.6 hours. As a result of the decay, signature high-energy photons or y rays are emitted from a given radioisotope. Thus, Fe emits two prominent y rays at 1099 and 1292 keV, " Na emits at 1368 and 2754 keV, and Zn emits at 1115 keV. Compilations of y rays used in NAA can be found in y-ray tables. 

The activity of a sample of a radioisotope was found to be 2150 disintegrations per minute. After 6.0 hours the activity was found to be 1324 disintegrations per minute. What is the half-life of the radioisotope ... 

Technetium-99m (the m signifies a metastable, or moderately stable, species) is generated in nuclear reactors and shipped to hospitals for use in medical imaging. The radioisotope has a half-life of 6.01 h. If a 165-mg sample of technetium-99m is shipped from a nuclear reactor to a hospital 125 kilometers away in a truck that averages 50.0 kmh. what mass of technetium-99m will remain when it arrives at the hospital ... 

The biological half-life of a radioisotope is the time required for the body to excrete half of the radioisotope. The effective half-life is the time required for the amount of a radioisotope in the body to be reduced to half its original amount, as a result of both the decay of the radioisotope and its excretion. Sulfur-35 (tu2 = 87.4 d) is used in cancer research. The biological half-life of sulfur-35 in the human body is 90. d. What is the effective half-life of sulfur-35 ... 

The radioligand should also have a high specific activity so that very small quantities of bound ligand can be accurately measured. The specific activity, simply defined as the amount of radioactivity, expressed in becquerels (Bq) or curies (Ci) per mole of ligand, is dependent on the half-life of the isotope used and on the number of radioactive atoms incorporated into the ligand molecule. A radioisotope with a short half-life decays rapidly so that many disintegrations occur in unit time,... 

FIGURE 10 The half-life. It is impossible to predict when a radioisotope or an unstable substance (molecule) will decay or be decomposed. On an average, however, only half of any type of radioisotope or unstable substance (molecule) remains after one half-life (A/2) one-quarter will remain after two half-lives (A/A), one-eighth after three half-lives (A/8), and so on. The half-life is characteristic of every radioisotope and unstable molecule that of radioisotopes is not affected in any way by the physical or chemical conditions to which the radioisotope may be subjected. Not so the half-life of chemically unstable molecules, which is altered by changes in temperature and by other physical and chemical conditions. 

The disintegration constant of 55Fe is 0.2665 years 1. Calculate the half-life of the radioisotope. 

The half-life of 45Ca is 165 days. Calculate the disintegration constant of the radioisotope. 

If the half-life of a radioisotope is 13.3 hours, calculate the mean life of the isotope. 

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