Question:
Describe how commercial radioisotopes are produced in nuclear reactors
Replies:
Isotopes are elements with the same number of protons, but different neutron
counts. One way to make a radioisotope is to bombard atoms with a stream of
neutrons. Some of the neutrons join the atoms. If an atom gets too many
neutrons, it becomes unstable. This is a radioactive isotope. When these
radioactive isotopes decay into smaller elements, often the products are
also radioactive.
Mellendorf
You stick a sample into the neutron flux in the reactor, and nuclei in
the sample get activated when a neutron enters them. In principle, the
cleanest activation should occur if the neutrons hitting the sample
have the optimal energy to take the sample nuclei through the chain
that maximizes the amount of the desired isotope and minimizes the
amounts of unwanted isotopes. I don't know how well this optimization
works in practice, or even if it is routinely attempted.
Tim Mooney
I suggest trying your local library and looking up 'radioisotopes' and/or
'nuclear reators' to find your answer. Good luck.
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