Nuclear Applications in Medicine and Energy
Nuclear medicine is genuinely amazing! Doctors use radioactive tracers like radioactive iodine to check your thyroid gland. These tracers must emit gamma radiation (so it can pass through your body), have a short half-life (so they don't hang around), and not be too ionising.
Radiotherapy uses ionising radiation to destroy cancer cells. It's incredibly precise, though some healthy tissue might get damaged too. The key is targeting the cancer whilst minimising harm to everything else.
Nuclear fission happens when massive, unstable nuclei (like uranium) split apart, releasing enormous amounts of energy. Nuclear fusion is the opposite - light nuclei (like hydrogen) join together to form heavier ones. Both processes convert some mass into energy, but fusion doesn't create a dangerous chain reaction like fission can.
Real-World Connection: The sun runs on nuclear fusion, turning hydrogen into helium and giving us all the energy that powers life on Earth!