More about radiation

Question 1

How was the nature of alpha radiation discovered?

Answer 1

• Rutherford devised an experiment
  
  • alpha particles collected as a gas in a glas tube fitted with two electrodes
  • when a voltage was applied to the electrodes the gas conducted electricity and emitted light
• using a spectrometer
  
  • proves that the spectrum of light from the tube was the same as from a tube filled with helium gas

Question 2

What conclusion did Rutherford make about the alpha radiation?

Answer 2

it is the nucleus of helium

prescence of a positive particle

Question 3

How was the nature of beta radiation discovered?

Answer 3

• deflection of a beam of beta particles using electric and magnetic fields
• the measurements were used to work out the specific charge
• this was shown to be the same as the specific charge of the electron

Question 4

How is beta radiation released?

Answer 4

• beta minus
  
  • nucleus emits electron
  • from a neutron chanmging into a proton
  • conserve mass and charge
  • neutron rich nucleus
• beta plus
  
  • proton to neutron
  • releases a positron
  • proton rich nucleus

Question 5

How are positron emitted sources created?

Answer 5

• do not occur naturally
• created when high-energy protons collide with nuclei

Question 6

How was the natural of gamma radiation discovered?

Answer 6

• consists of photons with a wavelength of the order of 10^-11m or less
• discovery was made by using a crystal to diffract a bream of gamma radiation
  
  • in a similar way to the diffraction of light by a diffraction grating