PHYSICS - Radiation - Uses of Nuclear Radiation

What have the Hulk and Spiderman got in common? They both gained their super powers because of radiation. Well, in films and comics at least. In real life, radiation has never given anyone super powers. But when used carefully radiation does have many uses. Which we’re going to look at in this video. Remember, the nucleus is found at the centre of all atoms. Some nuclei are unstable and may emit alpha particles, beta particles, or neutrons, and electromagnetic radiation as gamma rays. Gamma radiation can be used in radiotherapy, for the treatment of cancer. Gamma radiation is directed at the area of the body affected by cancer. At high doses, radiation kills cancer cells or slows down their growth by damaging their DNA. These dead cancer cells are broken down and removed by the body. Radiotherapy doesn’t work straight away; the cancer cells can take up to a few months to die and be removed by the body. Radiotherapy can also be used to destroy other tissues in the body, that are not useful. For example, radiotherapy is often used in the treatment of overactive thyroid glands. If the thyroid gland produces too much thyroxine, it can result in heart palpitations, anxiety, tiredness and mood swings, amongst other symptoms. Radiotherapy can be used to destroy some cells of the thyroid gland and thereby reduce the amount of thyroxine that is produced. Beta and gamma radiation can also be used as tracers. Tracers in the body can provide a useful alternative to surgery. A small amount of radioactive material is introduced to the body and a radiographer follows the passage of this material through the body using specialised equipment. Beta and gamma sources are used because they pass out of the body and so can be detected. Remember, alpha radiation can’t travel through anything thicker than a sheet of paper. Barium meals or barium enemas are common examples of radiation used in this way. Smoke detectors emit a constant stream of alpha particles. A sensor continually detects these alpha particles, causing a small current. If smoke particles come between the source and the detector, the current is decreased and an alarm goes off. Gamma radiation is used to sterilise hospital equipment and is also used to kill bacteria, mould and insects from food before the food is packaged. This increases the shelf-life of the food. The food is safe to eat and doesn’t become radioactive itself as it’s irradiation rather than contamination. There are a few uses for radiation - there are many, many more. While radiation can be extremely useful, unfortunately it won’t make use superhuman.