Radio activity - Lab Report Example

This experiment illustrates that coins can be used in the laboratory to visualize the process of radioactivity. Radioactivity is a terminology used to refer to the spontaneous changes that occur in the nucleus of unstable atoms accompanied by release particles or electromagnetic radiation. In some cases, it is caused by conflict of two strongest in nature. In connection to this, there are several nuclear isotopes. These isotopes emit radiation and are unstable; some of the radiations emitted by these isotopes are gamma, alpha, and neutron emissions.

Gamma radiations are photons that are packets of electromagnetic energy. In the electromagnetic energy spectrum, gamma radiations are the most energetic ionizing radiation. They have about 10,000 more energy than the photons that are found in the visible electromagnetic spectrum. In addition, they also have no electrical charge and mass. Since they have high energy, they can travel at the speed that is equal to that of the light and go for long distances without losing their energy. As a result, they are very dangerous and pass through the human body.

Alpha particles, on the other hand, have two protons and two neutrons and, therefore, are the same as a helium particle. When an alpha particle is emitted the parent nucleus changes to another element. A neutron particle on the hand has no charge and, therefore, is neutral. Radioactivity is a random process therefore it is impossible to predict the specific time when a particular atom will decay (Cutnell and Johnson 6). Due to the random nature of radioactivity it is, therefore, a probability event that is entirely dependent on chance.

In radioactivity, the half-life is the time taken for the number of radio nuclei of a radioactive sample to reduce to half. The randomness of radioactivity process can be compared to the tossing of a coin activity because the chances of a head or a