https://energyeducation.ca/wiki/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Isotopes_for_societyIsotopes for society - Revision history2026-04-27T00:26:06ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.44.0https://energyeducation.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Isotopes_for_society&diff=9368&oldid=prevJmdonev: 1 revision imported2020-04-28T15:32:20Z<p>1 revision imported</p>
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[[File:Screenshot 2020-01-29 at 5.29.53 PM.png|500px|thumb|right|Figure 1. Nuclei of carbon's three most common isotopes. <ref>Created internally by a member of the Energy Education team</ref>]]<br />
The nucleus of an atom contains [[proton]]s and [[neutron]]s. The type of element is determined by the number of protons. When two different atoms have the same number of protons, but a different number of neutrons, they are different [[isotope]]s. These isotopes are chemically very similar (often indistinguishable). This allows people to use these different [[isotope]]s to perform essential tasks for society every single day. <br />
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Some common examples of using different radioactive and stable isotopes in modern society include:<br />
* [[half life|Radioactive dating]]: where the half life of radioactive substances can indicate how old a sample may be, by comparing how much isotope remains compared to an initial amount.<br />
* [[Paleoclimatology]]: stable [[oxygen]] isotopes are used to calculate ancient [[temperature]]s by comparing the amount of stable oxygen-18 to the amount of oxygen-16.<br />
* [[Smoke detector]]s: use americium-241 to ionize air molecules. Smoke particles interrupt this and trip the alarm.<br />
* [[Nuclear medicine]]: a wide variety of different radioactive isotopes are used for both diagnostic imaging procedures and medical treatment.<br />
* [[Isotope based emissions tracking]]: our vehicles emit [[nitrogen oxide|NO<sub>2</sub>]] when we combust [[gasoline]]. This is absorbed by nearby plants and can be used to examine the effects of emissions on our [[ecosystem]]s.<br />
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The video below was made by part of the Energy Education team and discusses how isotopes are used for the betterment of society:<br />
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==For Further Reading== <br />
*[[Isotope]] <br />
*[[Nuclear fission]] <br />
*[[Radioactivity]] <br />
*[[Alpha decay]] <br />
*Or explore a [[Special:Random|random page]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}</div>energy>Jmdonev