Impact of the Discovery of Atoms & Isotopes
What are some of the various technological advancements that we have made as a society as a result of our knowledge and understanding of atoms and isotopes?
What impacts have these technological advancements had on the environment or health or economies?
Environmental
Economical
Health
Impact: Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power generally requires lots of empty land or an isolated place
Nuclear Power can release lots of nuclear and radioactive waste into the open or surroundings
Since nuclear power uses nuclear fission it can also be deadly if the nuclear power plant has a malfunction it can be very deadly
Impact: Atomic and Nuclear Weapons
Nuclear and atomic weapons have a devastating effect on the terrain around it when used as it destroys almost everything on its path
They lead to air pollution as radioactivity stays in the air for a long time
An example of this is in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as people there have many biological disorders
Although Nuclear power is emission-free and energy efficient, we only have a limited amount of the resources, and radioactive isotopes can sometimes blow up a whole town by a tiny mistake. Ex) Chernobyl
and radioactive isotopes can sometimes blow up a whole town by a tiny mistake.
An example is the Chernobyl incident where a nuclear power plant exploded leaving an tremendous impact on the surroundings
Pretty expensive to manufacture with the atomic bomb costing 9.5$ billion dollars to manufacture
Impact: Radioactive Medicine
Impact: Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy is energy efficient and emission-free and makes up for its cost and provide a good source of electricity
large amounts of Radioactivity exposure can cause hair loss, cancer and skin burns
Limited doses of radioactivity
can help treat diseases like cancer
Radioactive Medicine provides an efficient way to treat an certain disorder that has gone far out of the capabilities of regular medicine
Almost 20% of the U.S energy supply is from nuclear energy
Even so still very expensive to manufacture which means that only the wealthiest countries can afford it
Nuclear energy's price hasn't really changed and countries may move away from it
Our understanding of the structure of an atom has allowed us to perform nuclear fusion to extract energy that is used as nuclear energy .
One of the important applications of isotopes in industry is radiography.
Atomic and nuclear weapons are also an invention
Our understanding of radioactive isotopes has allowed us to use them in the field of medicine to treat diseases for example cobalt - 60 is used as a source to stop the development of cancer.
List of Radioactive Isotopes: Cobalt 60, Cesium 137, and Iridium 192. material.
Lasers
A laser is created when the electrons in atoms in special glasses, crystals, or gases absorb energy from an electrical current or another laser and become “excited.”
It has also helped us find diagnosis and treatment of thyroid function, and also lung imaging, liver disease diagnosis, and much more things
Result of Nuclear Fission being used in a explosive manner
Though not the intended to work like this, the science behind this weapon was discovered by Albert Einstein in 1938, when he split a Uranium Atom in two resulting in a explosion
Laser
Laser surgery is performed on eyes to improve or correct short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism.