BRAINCAKERadioactive Tracers
A radioactive tracer can be used to trace the path of movement of a substance through some system e.g. the movement of blood through blood vessels, food through the digestive system, water through a system of pipes.
In order to do this, the source must be stable but decay quickly enough to be made safe after use.
Sign in free to see the rest of this lesson, the R.E.C.I.P.E. recall steps and the quiz
BrainCake is free. Make an account in seconds and pick up where this page stops.
Key terms in this lesson
- Activity
- The number of nuclei in a radioactive sample that disintegrate per second, measured in becquerel.
- Half-life
- The average time taken for the activity, or the number of undecayed nuclei, of a radioactive isotope to decrease to half its initial value.
More in Radioactivity
- Radioactive Decay
- Decay Constant
- Radiocarbon dating
- Argon dating
- Thickness Monitoring and Engine Wear
- Power Sources
- N-Z Graph
- Decay Series
All 25 lessons in Radioactivity · All AQA A-level Physics topics