Information on radiation and radioactivity
When discussing nuclear power and spent fuel, one often comes across the concepts of radiation and radioactivity. This page provides additional information on these concepts.
Radioactivity refers to the instability of the atom nucleus, or its tendency to change into another kind of nucleus. This change event is often referred to as radioactive decay.
In connection with the decay, the atom nucleus may emit matter in the form of alpha or beta particles or energy as gamma radiation. These particles and energy waves emitted from the radioactive nucleus are referred to by the common name of radiation.
The speed of radioactive decay is described by the concept of half-life. Half-life refers to the time during which half of the substance has decayed to other substances. With some substances, the half-life is a few fractions of a second, whereas the half life of other substances is billions of years. The final result is a stable, non-radioactive substance. As the radioactive substance decays to a half, the amount of radiation also decreases.
