The nuclei of certain atoms are stable and under ordinary circumstances, stable nuclei do not undergo change. The nuclei of other atoms are unstable. These nuclei undergo change spontaneously, that is ...

For now at least, fears about an unstoppable disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant have calmed a bit. But the crisis has clearly entered a second phase — tainted food and water. Over the ...

The element radium can be found in extremely tiny amounts in the Earth’s crust and oceans, and in its pure form it is a soft silvery metal. To an untrained eye, a small piece of radium may look like a ...

When Marie and Pierre Curie discovered the natural radioactive elements polonium and radium, they did something truly remarkable– they uncovered an entirely new property of matter. The Curies’ work ...

A New Science. The beginnings. The setting ; Rays and radiation ; Becquerel's discovery -- The Curies. Maria Skłodowska ; A consequential meeting ; New elements! -- Rutherford, Soddy, particles, and ...

There are many factors to consider when saying “radioactivity is hazardous.” Here is an attempt to summarize them in five points. Radiation is not an age-old reality; in fact, the discovery of ...

1 p.m. ET | Tepco said Thursday that the water beneath the damaged reactor has radioactivity measuring at 10,000 time the legal limit, though it still believes the drinking water supply to be safe.

Radioactivity figures large in the public consciousness in 2011, but many chemists may think it matters little to their work, if at all. Introductory chemistry classes taught us the names of the most ...

Particles released by drilling could damage the health of nearby residents, say scientists The radioactivity of airborne particles increases significantly downwind of fracking sites in the US, a study ...