Strontium

Strontium-90

Strontium-90

Strontium-90 is a radioactive isotope of strontium, with a half-life of 28.8 years.-Radioactivity:Natural strontium is nonradioactive and nontoxic, but 90Sr is a radioactivity hazard...

 is a commonly used beta

Beta particle

Beta particles are high-energy, high-speed electrons or positrons emitted by certain types of radioactive nuclei such as potassium-40. The beta particles emitted are a form of ionizing radiation also known as beta rays. The production of beta particles is termed beta decay...

 emitter used in industrial sources. It is also been used as a thermal power source in radioisotope thermoelectric generator

Radioisotope thermoelectric generator

A radioisotope thermoelectric generator is an electrical generator that obtains its power from radioactive decay. In such a device, the heat released by the decay of a suitable radioactive material is converted into electricity by the Seebeck effect using an array of thermocouples.RTGs can be...

 power packs. These use heat produced by radioactive decay of strontium-90 to generate heat, which can be converted to electricity using a thermocouple. Strontium-90 has a shorter half-life, produces less power, and requires more shielding than Plutonium-238

Plutonium-238

-External links:**...

, but is cheaper as it is a fission product and is present in a high concentration in nuclear waste and can be relatively easily chemically extracted. Strontium-90 based RTGs have been used to power remote lighthouses. ^{http://www.atomicinsights.com/sep96/materials.html}

Strontium-89

Strontium-89

Strontium-89 is an isotope of strontium.It is treated by the body in a similar manner to calcium, and is preferentially deposited metabolically active regions of the bone.It is an artificial radioisotope which is used in treatment of bone cancer...

 is a short lived beta emitter which has been used as a treatment for bone tumor

Bone tumor

A bone tumor refers to a neoplastic growth of tissue in bone. Abnormal growths found in the bone can be either benign or malignant .-Classification:...

s, this is used in palliative care

Palliative care

Palliative care is a specialized area of healthcare that focuses on relieving and preventing the suffering of patients...

 in terminal cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 cases. Both strontium-89 and strontium-90 are fission product

Fission product

Nuclear fission products are the atomic fragments left after a large atomic nucleus fissions. Typically, a large nucleus like that of uranium fissions by splitting into two smaller nuclei, along with a few neutrons and a large release of energy in the form of heat , gamma rays and neutrinos. The...

s.

Tritium

Tritium

Tritium

Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...

 is a low-energy beta emitter commonly used as a radiotracer in research and in traser self-powered lighting

Self-powered lighting

Tritium illumination is the use of gaseous tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, to create visible light. Tritium emits electrons through beta decay, and when they interact with a phosphor material, fluorescent light is created, a process called radioluminescence...

s and some "glow-in-the-dark

Phosphor

A phosphor, most generally, is a substance that exhibits the phenomenon of luminescence. Somewhat confusingly, this includes both phosphorescent materials, which show a slow decay in brightness , and fluorescent materials, where the emission decay takes place over tens of nanoseconds...

" paints. The half-life of tritium is 12.3 years. The electron

Electron

The electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. It has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton...

s from beta

Beta particle

Beta particles are high-energy, high-speed electrons or positrons emitted by certain types of radioactive nuclei such as potassium-40. The beta particles emitted are a form of ionizing radiation also known as beta rays. The production of beta particles is termed beta decay...

 emission from tritium are so low in energy that a Geiger counter

Geiger counter

A Geiger counter, also called a Geiger–Müller counter, is a type of particle detector that measures ionizing radiation. They detect the emission of nuclear radiation: alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays. A Geiger counter detects radiation by ionization produced in a low-pressure gas in a...

 can not be used to detect them. Note that one of the first-aid treatments for the intake of tritium (as tritiated water

Tritiated water

Tritiated water is a form of water where the usual hydrogen atoms are replaced with tritium. In its pure form it may be called tritium oxide or super-heavy water. Pure T2O is corrosive due to self-radiolysis. Diluted, tritiated water is mainly H2O plus some HTO . It is also used as a tracer for...

) in a human is to give the human plenty of water to drink. This means that the tritated water will be mixed with normal water and will therefore be flushed out by the body more rapidly.

Tritium can also be found in metal work in the form of a tritiated rust

Rust

Rust is a general term for a series of iron oxides. In colloquial usage, the term is applied to red oxides, formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water or air moisture...

, this can be treated by heating the steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 in a furnace

Furnace

A furnace is a device used for heating. The name derives from Latin fornax, oven.In American English and Canadian English, the term furnace on its own is generally used to describe household heating systems based on a central furnace , and sometimes as a synonym for kiln, a device used in the...

 to drive off the tritium-containing water.

Tritium can be made by the neutron irradiation of lithium

Lithium

Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly...

.

Carbon

Carbon-14

Carbon-14

Carbon-14, 14C, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with a nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues , to date archaeological, geological, and hydrogeological...

 is also commonly used as a beta source in research, it is commonly used as a radiotracer in organic compounds. While the energy of the beta particles is higher than those of tritium they are still quite low in energy. For instance the walls of a glass bottle are able to absorb it. Carbon-14 is made by the np reaction

Np reaction

The reaction is an example of a nuclear reaction. It is the reaction which occurs when a neutron enters a nucleus and a proton leaves the nucleus simultaneously....

 of nitrogen

Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...

-14 with neutrons. It is generated in the atmosphere by the action of cosmic rays on nitrogen. Also a large amount was generated by the neutrons from the air burst

Air burst

An air burst is the detonation of an explosive device such as an anti-personnel artillery shell or a nuclear weapon in the air instead of on contact with the ground or target or a delayed armor piercing explosion....

s during nuclear weapons testing conducted in the 20th century. The specific activity

Specific activity

In nuclear sciences and technologies, "activity" is the SI quantity related to the phenomenon of natural and artificial radioactivity. The SI unit of "activity" is becquerel, Bq, while that of "specific activity" is Bq/kg. The old unit of "activity" was curie, Ci, while that of "specific activity"...

 of atmospheric carbon increased as a result of the nuclear testing

Nuclear testing

Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...

 but due to the exchange of carbon between the air and other parts of the carbon cycle

Carbon cycle

The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth...

 it has now returned to a very low value. For small amounts of carbon-14 one of the favoured disposal

Waste management

Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...

 methods is to burn the waste in a medical incinerator, the idea is that by dispersing the radioactivity over a very wide area the threat to any one human is very small.

Phosphorus

Phosphorus-32

Phosphorus-32

Phosphorus-32 is a radioactive isotope of phosphorus. The nucleus of phosphorus-32 contains 15 protons and 17 neutrons, one more neutron than the most common isotope of phosphorus, phosphorus-31...

 is a short-lived high energy beta emitter, which is used in research in radiotracers. It can be used in DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

. Phosphorus

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...

-32 can be made by the neutron irradiation (np reaction

Np reaction

The reaction is an example of a nuclear reaction. It is the reaction which occurs when a neutron enters a nucleus and a proton leaves the nucleus simultaneously....

) of sulfur

Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...

-32 or from Phosphorus

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...

-31 by neutron capture

Neutron capture

Neutron capture is a kind of nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus collides with one or more neutrons and they merge to form a heavier nucleus. Since neutrons have no electric charge they can enter a nucleus more easily than positively charged protons, which are repelled...

.

Nickel

Nickel-63 is a special isotope of nickel that can be used as an energy source in Radioisotope Piezoelectric Generators

Radioisotope piezoelectric generator

A Radioisotope piezoelectric generator converts energy stored in the radioactive material directly into motion to generate electricity by the repeated deformation of a piezoelectric material...

. It has a half-life of 100.1 years. It can be created by irradiating Nickel-62

Nickel-62

Nickel-62 is an isotope of nickel having 28 protons and 34 neutrons.It is a stable isotope, with the highest binding energy per nucleon of any known nuclide . It is often stated that 56Fe is the "most stable nucleus", but actually 56Fe has the lowest mass per nucleon of all nuclides...

with neutrons in a nuclear reactor.^{http://isotope.info/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/possible-way-to-industrial-production-of-nickel-63-and-the-prospects-of-its-use.pdf}