Common isotopes that are used in nuclear imaging include: fluorine-18, gallium-67, krypton-81m, rubidium-82, nitrogen-13, technetium-99m, indium-111, iodine-123, xenon-133, and thallium-201. Tellurium-128 undergoes beta-decay with a half-life … In our daily life we need food, water and good health. The isotopes used in PET scans are produced in a device called a cyclotron. for example carbon-14 for radioactive dating. This is why isotopes make effective tracers. Bismuth-209 is a stable radioactive isotope that undergoes alpha-decay but has a half-life of 1.9 x 10 19 years (which is more than a billion times longer than the estimated age of the universe). Hence old civil plutonium contains significant amounts of it. Unstable isotopes go through radioactive decay and emit radiation and they are known as radioisotopes. Radiocarbon dating, which measures the age of carbon-bearing items, uses a radioactive isotope known as carbon-14. ISOTOPES Uses of isotopes in our daily lives There are two types of isotopes, namely 1.the stable isotopes (non-radioactive) 2.the non-stable isotopes (radioactive). Radioisotopes have many applications in daily life. Used as Tracers. This type of scan is useful for producing images of the brain and cardiac structures, as well as for detecting many types of cancer. The term "isotopes" refers to atoms of an element that have the same quantity of protons but differ in the number of neutrons they possess. What are some common isotopes used in daily life? Isotopes of an element all have the same chemical behavior, but the unstable isotopes undergo spontaneous decay during which they emit radiation and achieve a stable state. Radioactive isotopes find uses in agriculture, food industry, pest control, archeology and medicine. An example is bismuth-209. In addition, the most basic isotopes used in modern biomedical research laboratories (hydrogen-3, carbon-14, phosphorus-32/33, sulfur-35, iodine 125) are produced in reactors. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and IAEA works to facilitating products used in our daily life have in some way benefited from radiation during their production. This is why the use of artificially produced radioactive isotopes has become widespread since the late 1940's. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) promotes the wider use of radioisotopes and radiation sources in research, industry, agriculture and medicine. thanks! The isotope 241 Am is used in many smoke detectors for homes and businesses (as mentioned previously), in thickness gauges designed to measure and control metal foil thickness during manufacturing processes, to measure levels of toxic lead in dried paint samples, and to help determine where oil wells should be drilled. Today, isotopes have come to play Of this, about 10-14% is the plutonium-241 isotope, which has a half-life of 14 years, decaying to Am-241 through emission of beta particles. Detection of isotope radioactivity is a very simple process. Key Terms. nuclear medicine: The branch of medicine that uses radioactive isotopes in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Modern technology has also made it possible to employ stable isotopes, that do not emit radiation, within reach of the scientific community. An example of such isotopes used to prevent cancer from developing is the Cobalt-60 isotope. Support for U.S.-based reactors is 1-Carbon 14: is a carbon isotope with a half-life of 5,730 years that is used in archeology to determine the age of rocks and organic matter. Leading examples of isotopes . Typical used fuel from a power reactor contains about 1% plutonium. 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