Help!! Production of Radioisotopes (1 Viewer)

[hyperbole]

Hey,

I have an assessment due this week on 'the production of radioisotopes'.
All I have at the moment is that radioisotopes can be produced using nuclear reactor (bomabrdment with neutrons) and particle accelerators (charged particles). But I can't seem to find that much information on the actual process, I've been searching google and encyclopedias but the whole process is only discussed in a few sentences, and I need to be more detailed.
If anyone could recommend any good websites or post any information about the production of radioisotopes, I will be extremely grateful.

Thank you sOoOoOO much.

Hyperbole

 

[archangel leila]

Yeah i don't have much info on these processes either, only very general (grr..)

With the bombardment of neutrons, an example is how neptunium and plutonium are synthesised: the nuclear fission ('splitting the atom') of uranium-235 which occurs in nuclear reactors produces neutrons which bombard (collide at high speed) with uranium-238. The uranium-239 that forms decays by beta emission which produces neptunium-239, which then decays more to produce plutonium-239.
Also, alpha particles (2 neutrons, 2 protons), similar to neutrons, are also used in the bombardment process to produce transuranic elements e.g. the alpha bombardment of plutonium produces curium-242.

With particle accelerators (i think they're called linear accelerators?), the target nucleii of an element is bombarded with the nuclei of other elements in a vacuum environment. This must be done at very high speeds as the repulsion of the approaching nuclei must be overcome. The nuclei fuse together to form highly unstable and rapidly decaying elements. E.g. is firing Fe-58 nuclei at Pb-208 targets to produce hassium-265.

This is all the info i've got. Hope it adds something to what you've already researched

 

[jamesy_1988]

try the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organistation's website at http://www.ansto.gov.au/ it may have some useful info.

Jamesy