NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY – RADIOACTIVITY

CONTENT

1. Definition of Radioactivity
2. Radioactive Elements
3. Types and Nature of Radiation
4. Radioactivity Decay
5. Differences between Nuclear Reaction and Chemical Reaction
6. Half-life and Applications of Radioactivity
7. Solved Problems
8. Nuclear Reaction
9. Nigeria Nuclear Energy Programme

Definition of Radioactivity

This is a spontaneous decay of unstable nuclei with the release of energy and radiation such as alpha particle, Beta particle and gamma ray.

Radioactivity was discovered by A.B. Becquerel in the year 1896 when he found that a sample of uranium could affect the photographic plate even after it had been wrapped in black so as to prevent its fluorescence from reaching the photographic plate.

After uranium had been shown to have this property, there had been other experiments to identify other material of similar behaviour. Other radioactive materials that had been discovered include: radium, thorium, polonium … had been discovered. They exhibit the following properties:

1. They affect photographic plate
2. They ionize gas
3. They produce fluorescence

The ionising effect of radioactive material can be observed using a charge electroscope.