Beta particles are high-speed electrons or positrons released from radioactive nuclei. They are one of the least harmful forms of radiation but still pose a significant health problem. Beta emitters include strontium-90, potassium-40, technetium-99, tritium, and carbon-14. Beta particles cause ballistic damage and break chemical bonds, creating tissue-damaging ions. They are used in radioisotope thermoelectric generators and commercial applications such as radiotracers and fluorescent paint. Tritium has low radioactivity and is produced through neutron bombardment of lithium.
The beta particle is a form of ionizing radiation related to other common forms of radiation, alpha particles and gamma rays. The beta particle is a high-speed electron or positron released from a degenerating radioactive nucleus. Being of medium energy and low mass, beta particles are one of the least harmful forms of radiation, but still pose a very significant health problem. Beta emitters include strontium-90, potassium-40, technetium-99, tritium and carbon-14.
Beta particles have properties equivalent to electrons, but much higher energies than the typical electrons that orbit the nucleus. While beta particles aren’t themselves radioactive, they cause ballistic damage, breaking chemical bonds and creating tissue-damaging ions. The cause of beta emission is an excessive number of neutrons in the atomic nucleus. When there are significantly more neutrons than protons in a nucleus, the neutrons degenerate into protons and electrons, which are ejected from the nucleus at high speed. This increases the atomic number of the atom and also increases its stability, an example of natural atomic alchemy which gives rise to a new type of atom.
Henri Becquerel discovered beta particles in the late 19th century. In 19 he demonstrated that beta particles, previously thought to be distinct from electrons, were actually one and the same. The fact that beta particles were treated distinctly before 1900 is probably part of the reason they have their name rather than being called “energetic electrons” or something similar.
Like other radioactive substances, beta particle emitters are used in radioisotope thermoelectric generators, used to power space probes, not to mention remote Russian lighthouses. These lighthouses are actually a significant environmental concern, as they contain more strontium than was released in the Chernobyl fire.
Tritium and phosphorus-32 are weak beta emitters that are used for commercial applications, such as radiotracers and fluorescent paint. Tritium is produced through neutron bombardment of lithium and has such low radioactivity that a Geiger counter cannot detect its presence. Sometimes the tritium gets into the water, in which case patients are told to drink 10 pints of beer or water a day, to flush the system.
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