How is americium-241 useful?

How is americium-241 useful?

Americium-241 is used as a neutron source in non-destructive testing of machinery and equipment, and as a thickness gauge in the glass industry. However, its most common application is as an ionization source in smoke detectors, and most of the several kilograms of americium made each year are used in this way.

How is americium-241 used in industry?

Category: Industrial Radiation — Industrial Applications Americium-241 (241Am) is used in many detectors to measure (1) smoke in homes, (2) toxic lead in old wall paint, (3) the thickness of foil and paper while in production, and (4) water moisture or hydrocarbons (oil) in soil.

What happens if you inhale americium-241?

Americium and Health It poses a more significant risk if ingested (swallowed) or inhaled. Once in the body, it tends to concentrate in the bone, liver, and muscle. Americium can stay in the body for decades and continue to expose the surrounding tissues to radiation, increasing the risk of developing cancer.

Is it legal to own americium?

Americium is the only man-made element which is legal to posses, and the amazing part is that you can buy it for less than $10 at any hardware store.

What can you do with americium?

Americium is a silvery, shiny radioactive metal. Americium is commonly used in smoke alarms, but has few other uses. It has the potential to be used in spacecraft batteries in the future.

Why do we use uranium 235?

Uranium “enriched” into U-235 concentrations can be used as fuel for nuclear power plants and the nuclear reactors that run naval ships and submarines. It also can be used in nuclear weapons.

What are three uses of americium?

Americium is a portable source of gamma-rays and alpha particles for a variety of medical and industrial uses such as radiography and spectroscopy, helping to create flat glass by gauging its thickness.

How does americium 241 work in smoke detectors?

Ionization chamber smoke detectors contain a small amount of americium-241, a radioactive material. Smoke particles disrupt the low, steady electrical current produced by radioactive particles and trigger the detector’s alarm. They react quickly to fires that give off little smoke.

How does americium-241 work in smoke detectors?

What can I do with americium?

Americium can be produced in kilogram quantities and has a few practical uses. It is used in smoke detectors and can be used as a portable source of gamma rays. Americium-241, with a half-life of 432.2 years, is used in these products because it is easier to produce relatively pure samples of this isotope.

Why is AM 241 used in smoke alarms?

Ionization smoke detectors use americium as a source of alpha particles. Alpha particles from the americium source ionize air molecules. This makes some particles positively charged and some negatively charged. Because of this shielding, the smoke detector poses no radiation health risk when they are properly handled.

Is americium harmful to the body?

Exposure to extremely high levels of americium, as has been reported in some animal studies, has resulted in damage to organs such as the lungs, liver, kidneys, and thyroid. It is rare, however, that a person would be exposed to amounts of americium large enough to cause harmful effects in these organs.