Uses+of+Nuclear+Energy

How is Nuclear Energy used?

Nuclear medicine Nuclear radiation is not always bad. Radioisotopes can cause cancers but are also used in nuclear medicine to diagnose and treat them. Radiotherapy involves directing high, localised doses of radiation to cancer sites by using an external focused beam or a surgical implant, or by swallowing a radioactive medicine. Rapidly dividing cells such as cancerous cells are more sensitive to nuclear radiation than other cells they self destruct if their DNA is damaged. Unfortunately, some nearby healthy cells are also killed, leading to short-term illness and side-effects. Nuclear medicines are also used to give images of internal organs, blood vessels and bones. Gamma-emitting radioactive tracers are swallowed or injected and tend to collect in particular parts of the body. They are then detected by a gamma ray camera placed outside the body. The gamma rays coming from inside the body are then converted to an image. For example, iodine-123 concentrates in the thyroid gland and so may be used to help diagnose thyroid conditions.

Industrial applications Nuclear radiation can be added to liquids or gases flowing in pipes to trace leaks or check for fractures. The thickness of metal or rubber sheets can be verified by measuring the amount of radiation transmitted through the material. Carbon dating All living things contain radioactive carbon-14. It is continually decaying but is constantly being replenished. While the organism is alive the percentage of carbon-14 it contains will remain constant. When an organism dies, the amount of carbon-14 reduces due to its continuous beta decay into nitrogen-14. In contrast, the amount of normal non-radioactive carbon (carbon-12) stays constant. The approximate age of once-living matter can be determined by comparing the amounts of both types of carbon in it and using a decay graph for carbon-14. Dirty bombs A dirty bomb is not a traditional nuclear bomb. It is basically any bomb that has radioactive material such as nuclear waste in it. This radioactive material is spread as very fine particles across large areas when the bomb explodes, floating in the air and contaminating water and food. It would be impossible to clean up the radioactive material and it could cause contamination problems for hundreds of years. There has been talk of terrorist organisations using dirty bombs and therefore it is important that radioactive waste is tightly controlled to ensure it does not fall into the wrong hands.