BRAINCAKEPower Sources
Radioactive isotopes can be used as power sources for remote devices such as satellites. The radioactive source can be placed in a container which produces electricity as a result of absorbing heat. The source needs to have a high activity and a long half-life.
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Key terms in this lesson
- half-life
- The average time taken for the number of nuclei of a radioactive isotope in a sample, or its activity, to halve.
- activity
- The number of nuclei of a radioactive isotope that disintegrate per second, measured in becquerels.
- isotope
- An atom of the same element, with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons.
More in Radioactivity
- Radiocarbon dating
- Argon Dating
- Radioactive Tracers
- Thickness monitoring and Engine Wear
- N-Z Graph
- Decay Series
- Energy Levels
- Technetium
All 25 lessons in Radioactivity · All OCR A-level Physics topics