Nuclear chemistry alpha particles

Helium has long been related to nuclear chemistry because of the formation of alpha particles (a = 4He2+) during the decay of heavy nuclei, an example of which is... 

One of the most promising applications of polyboron hydride chemistry is boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) for the treatment of cancers (253). Boron-10 is unique among the light elements in that it possesses an unusually high neutron capture nuclear cross section (3.8 x 10-25 m2,0.02—0.05 eV neutron). The nuclear reaction between 10B and low energy thermal neutrons yields alpha particles and recoiling lithium-7 nuclei ... 

JOLIOT-CURIE. IRENE 11897-195ft. A French nuclear scientist who won the Nohel prize for chemistry with her husband Frederick Joliet-Curie. Their joint work involved production of artiliciul radioactive elements by using t/-rays to bombard boron. They discovered that hydrogen-containing material when exposed to what they considered p rays would emit protons. Tliev were involved in many firsts they gave Ihe first chemical proof of aitillcial transmutation and of capture of alpha particles, and were the firsi to prepare positron emitter. Her career started with a Sc.D. at the Univ ersity of Paris, and included scores of honors and awards. 

Radiation is a phenomenon characterized more by its ability to canse biological effects than where it originates. Radiation was hrst discovered by German scientist Antoine Henri Becquerel, who received the Nobel Prize of Physics in 1903 for his work. Many of the terms associated with radioactivity come from those early pioneers in radiation physics Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen (1845-1923) and Pierre (1859-1906) and Marie Curie (1867-1934), who also received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 for their work on radiation. Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) is considered the father of nuclear physics. He developed the language that describes the theoretical concepts of the atom and the phenomenon of radioactivity. Particles named and characterized by him include the alpha particle, beta particle, and proton. Rutherford won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1909 for his work. 

The radiation detection systems employed in radioanalytical chemistry laboratories have changed considerably over the past sixty years, with significant improvement realized since the early 1980s. Advancements in the areas of material science, electronics, and computer technology have contributed to the development of more sensitive, reliable, and user-friendly laboratory instruments. The four primary radiation measurement systems considered to be necessary for the modern radionuclide measurement laboratory are gas-flow proportional counters, liquid scintillation (LS) counters. Si alpha-particle spectrometer systems, and Ge gamma-ray spectrometer systems. These four systems are the tools used to identify and measure most forms of nuclear radiation. 

In nuclear chemistry, we are primarily interested in changes within the nucleus therefore, the 2+ charge that we would normally write for a helium nuoleus is omitted for an alpha particle. 

Tritium was first prepared by nuclear transmutation, defined as the conversion of one element into another by a nuclear process. Rutherford, in addition to all his other contributions to chemistry and physics, was the first to carry out the alchemists dream. In 1919 Rutherford was still working with his alpha particles, this time shooting them into various gases. When he used nitrogen gas, the results indicated... 

So, we see as a laboratory source of alpha particles the supply would be pretty constant over a long period of time. Another consideration is that radium is in the same column of the periodic chart as Ca and so biologically it might have similar chemistry to Ca and become trapped in bone tissue where it would be radioactive for a long time. Thus, this interlude regarding the fact that first-order decay is a useful model for nuclear processes has provided an opportunity to discuss some aspects of nuclear chemistry. Considering the crossover of physics and chemistry in the work of the Curies (Marie, Pierre, and Irene) and information in the popular domain regarding nuclear chemistry, we think this brief discussion is justified as an essential part of physical chemistry. 

Rutherford s work has made him known as the father of nuclear physics with his research on radioactivity (alpha and beta particles and protons, which he named), and he was the first to describe the concepts of half-life and decay constant. He showed that elements such as uranium transmute (become different elements) through radioactive decay, and he was the first to observe nuclear reactions (split the atom in 1917). In 1908 he received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances. He was president of the Royal Society (1926-30) and of the Institute of Physics (1931-33) and was decorated with the Order of Merit (1925). He became Lord Rutherford in 1931. 

The majority of radioactive nuclides (radionuclides) are man-made, created by transforming a stable nuclide into an unstable state by irradiation with neutrons, protons, deuterons, alphas, gammas, or other nuclear particles. The source of these particles may be a radionuclide, a nuclear reactor, or a particle accelerator (Van de Graaff, cyclotron, linac, etc.). The tremendous variety of radionuclides discovered in this manner has given rise to many applications in physics, chemistry, biology, and, of course, medicine. The production of those medically useful radionuclides created by exposure to neutrons in a nuclear reactor is discussed in this chapter. 

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