Radioactivity is the energy or particles that are released from the nucleus of an atom due to spontaneous changes. Some atoms are unstable, and emitting radiation will achieve a stable state. The main forms of radiation emissions from a decaying and unstable nucleus can be in the form of alpha, beta or gamma radiation. When a positively-charged particle is emitted from the nucleus of an atom, this is called alpha decay. This alpha particle would consist of two protons and two neutrons, similar to a helium-4 nucleus. Whereas when a particle, either as an electron with either negative or positive charge, is emitted from the nucleus, this would be known as beta decay. And finally, when a nucleus is at a high energy state, photons known as gamma particles would be released to lower the energy state. Worldwide, people have found the use of radioactivity for society, from scientific applications to medical uses and to industrial uses. However, there are many positive and negative effects of using radioactivity.
First of all, archaeologists also use radioactivity to determine the ages of fossils through a process called radiocarbon dating. Carbon can be found in all living things as a small percentage, carbon-14. But when a living thing dies, the carbon-14 accumulated would begin a process of radioactive decay; resulting in an older object consisting less radioactivity than a newer object. And so, by measuring this difference, archaeologists are able to determine the object’s approximate age. Due to the discovery of this technique, there has been much conflict to the re-evaluation of many in churches about the biblical creation account. Radiocarbon dating is reliable method that can date up to around 50,000 to 60,000 years. If this claim...
... middle of paper ...
...all this are insignificant when we compare it with how much air pollution and greenhouse gases are being emitted by allowing irradiated goods and consumable be transported over great distances.
In conclusion, there are many reasons why radioactivity can be lethal, as mentioned before. Radioactivity is an amazing breakthrough; it has shaped our society in many ways. But personally, I believe, the negative factors still outweigh the positive factors. Excessive exposure to radiation can cause people to be poisoned by ‘radiation sickness’. Many symptoms of radiation sickness occur as ionizing radiation interferes with cell division. This interference is also the cause of the most feared disease, cancer. Generally, I believe society should not continue relying on radioactivity. Radiation is something that is fragile and has the potential to bring great harm if misused.
Radiation exposure can affect children as well an children have the risk of being the most harmfully effected by radiation because their body absorbs substances differently also their bodies can or are more likely to get certain kinds of cancers from too much exposure, “they are also closer to the ground, where radioactive fallouts settle.”
If creation is taken metaphorically, the earth could be four to fifteen billion years old. However, it is not essential which theory one believes, what matters is that God created all of it. This informs Christians that God created the universe; this is the most basic affirmation of Genesis. There is no room given for any other creative power. Through God’s spoken word, the universe was created.
Radiometric dating is the process of determining the age of a substance based on the ratio of isotopes in a given sample. The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom defines a particular element. However, the number of neutrons in the nucleus can vary, giving rise to different isotopes of the same element. Some of these isotopes are stable, while others are not. These unstable isotopes radioactively decay to more stable, often lighter elements, called daughter atoms, thereby releasing energy in the form of high-energy particles or electromagnetic waves.
The arguments that many Young Earth Creationists make for their belief and against evolution are that fossils were created through the great Flood, the literal belief in Genesis, and that radiocarbon dating used in Evolution is too imprecise to prove that the Earth is older than 10,000 years.
No matter how accurate and reliable the theory is, the results come from experimentation and trials. A report from Answers in Genesis has states a situation where a piece of wood located in “Hawkesbury Sandstone” in Sydney, Australia was designated a geological age of 225-230 million years old based on it’s position and the amount of rings present in the tree’s trunk. It was doubtful if the wood would contain and remaining C14 . Nevertheless a test was conducted. A sample of the wood was sent to Geochron Laboratories in Cambridge, Boston, USA. The final report indicated detectable radiocarbon had been found in the fossilised wood, a supposed C14 “age” of 33,720 ± 430 years. If this wood fossil was truly 225–230 million years of age, it should’ve been difficult to acquire a limited radiocarbon age as the C14 would of decayed to a point where it was undetectable. This would suggest that carbon dating is not yet an accurate method for dating
According to Genesis God created the Earth and all things in it in 7 days (actually six days and one day for a little R&R). There are within the belief wide ranges of explanations for the scientific discoveries in modern times. In 2000 the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) created a committee to study the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis. What they found were 4 different views of creation days within their group. The first view is that God created the world in 6 consecutive days, with each day being a normal Earth calendar day (24 hours), any geological formations seen today (such as sedimentary rock formations with ten’s of thousands of years of different layers) are said to have come from the Flood in Noah’s time. The most generally accepted date of the creation of the Earth was October 22, 4004 B.C.E. Certain groups such as and especially Christian fundamentalists who believe in the inerrancy and literal interpretation of the Bible are the main subscribers of this train of thought. One example of how this would be possible even when scientific evidence suggest that the Earth is far older then 6,000 years is that when God created things, he created them with a history. Trees would have been created already containing rings. New mountains would appear already eroded. In short, the world would appear much older then it actually is. Other examples such as the “Gap Theory” states that the days were in fact 24-hour periods, however there were large gaps of time between each one of them, enough time to accommodate many geological ages. The second view is th...
In the beginning of twentieth century, an advance in science occurred with the discovery of radioactivity. Scientist learned rocks and fossils could be used as timepieces, to tell the age of Earth. Radiometric dating is common method, often relied on by the world, which uses rocks to tell the age of Earth and its materials. Through this method scientist have concluded that the earth is 4.6 billion years of age and, this date and radiometric dating is accurate. However, over the years scientists have been proven incorrect. Radiometric dating is inaccurate because scientists assume the specimen’s initial conditions of accurately known, the rate of decay or half- life is constant, and the specimen has no contaminations. All of the factors can be challenged by science itself and create controversy in the scientific realm.
It is believed by Creationists that the Earth was created six thousand years ago. As Creation Science Today discusses, evidence of early humans is rare – written records cannot be found from more than four thousand years ago (Around the time of the early Egyptian empire, as documented in the Biblical books from Exodus to Ezekiel). A commonly held belief held by evolutionists is that the human race survived as hunter-gatherers for 185,000 years in the Stone Age before discovering such basic forms of communication as language and the written record. It is considered by Creationists an unlikely proposition that the human race took such an extended period of time to make these discoveries. The Biblical time scale indicates that humans descended from Noah (post-flood in Exodus) roughly 4,400 years ago. These humans (as depicted in the Bible) were intelligent and already advanced – contrary
A radioisotope is an isotope that emits radiation as it has nuclear instability(Prostate Cancer; Fusion imaging helps target greater doses of radiation).Those who are not too familiar with radioisotopes may think their use is for harmful radiation, nuclear weapons, and the possibility of turning into a giant, raging, green monster. However, there are much more positive uses for radioisotopes. There have been many medical advances thanks to the benefit and practice of radioisotopes in nuclear medicine. These advances have been able to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases.
Beta radiation/emission – Beta particles are electrons (0-1e) that have been released from the nucleus of a radioactive atom when a neutron decays into a proton and electron. Beta decay/emission happens when the neutron to proton ratio is too high due to excess neutrons. 10n 11p + 0-1e (mass is still conserved as well as number of protons.)
Metals are naturally occurring elements in the Earth's crust, and copper is one of the oldest metals known to civilization. Copper is an essential trace element that is vital to the health of all living things (humans, plants, animals, and microorganisms). In humans, copper is essential to the proper functioning of organs and metabolic processes. Copper is generally acquired through dietary intake of copper rich foods such as animal liver, nuts, and shellfish. (Weiss and Linder, 1985)
Radiation is one of the most dangerous and easiest way of having health effects. Radiation was first discovered by Roentgen. Hazards are the first things people need to know in order to understand what it can do to your body. It causes many health effects on everyone out in the world. It harms people in the dentistry and field and even in the medical field. Normal people out the world can also be exposed when coming into one of these offices and getting x-rays of some type.
Radiocarbon dating is used to tell how old something is. When some normal carbon gets hit by the rays of the sun it turns into carbon 14. Plants absorb this radioactive carbon in the form of carbon dioxide. Animals receive this carbon from eating the plants. When the organism is dead it loses the carbon 14. Scientists can tell how old something is based on the amount of carbon 14 in a dead object. Carbon dating is accurate if the amount of carbon 14 in the atmosphere has remained the same throughout time. The second is if carbon 14 has always decayed at the same
The age of the earth is one of the most debated topics of religious discussion. Quite surprisingly, the debate also exists with the Christian community. While most conservative Christians hold to a literal six day creation account, there are those who believe that the six “days” of creation are not to be taken as literal twenty-four hours days, but rather ages of time. Careful examination of the original Hebrew language as well as inconsistencies between the Genesis account and the evolutionary theory attest that the earth was indeed created in six literal days.
One of the greatest events of twentieth century was the use of radioisotope as a source of energy and as medical and industrial tools. Using radioactivity has been a global issue owing to its very nature. When it is used for peaceful purposes, it is a triumph of science because it can solve energy problems in the form of nuclear energy but the side effects in the form of harmful radiation and harmful radioactive waste is the real limitations of science. This essay will attempt to analyze the application of science in the use of radioactivity and radioactive isotopes and how science is not so effective in dealing with the side effects.