Radioisotopes - Uses
| Name | Emission | Half Life | Uses |
| americium-241 (Am) | alpha | 432.6 years | smoke detectors, ash (product of fire) content of coal |
| carbon-14 (C) | beta | 5730 +/- 40 years |
fossil dating |
| cobalt-60 (Co) | gamma | 1925 days | *
gamma sterilisation, * radiotherapy - gamma rays used to kill cancerous cells, * industrial radiography |
|
iodine-131
(I)
|
beta and gamma | 8 days | tracer in body to examine thyroid glands |
| iridium-192 (Ir) |
beta and gamma | 74 days | gamma radiography - to find flaws in metal components |
| phosphorus-32 (P) |
beta | 14 days | locating suspected brain tumour |
| sodium-24 (Na) |
beta (and gamma) |
15 hours | radiotracer in biological research, detect blood clot (blockage) |
technetium-99m (Tc) |
gamma | 6 hours | widely-used medical radioisotope |
| thallium-201 chloride |
gamma | 73 hours | cardiac imaging, nuclear medicine scan |
