Radioactive material gets a bad rap, what with radiation and fallout and nuclear waste and all. But it offers some practical uses. One of the coolest (OK, maybe the coolest) is using radioactive ...
The discovery of radioactivity allowed scientists to develop new methods of determining Earth's age, with astonishing results. Our planet is far older than people had thought! Students can understand ...
For example, carbon-14 decays to nitrogen-14 when it emits beta radiation. As this breakdown occurs, the activity of any radioactive source becomes less. This activity is measured in becquerels.