How did radon get its name?
How did radon get its name?
Radon was discovered by Friedrich Ernst Dorn, a German chemist, in 1900 while studying radium’s decay chain. Originally named niton after the Latin word for shining, “nitens,” it has been known as radon since 1923.
What does radon stand for?
radon (Rn), chemical element, a heavy radioactive gas of Group 18 (noble gases) of the periodic table, generated by the radioactive decay of radium. (Radon was originally called radium emanation.) Radon is a colourless gas, 7.5 times heavier than air and more than 100 times heavier than hydrogen.
Who was radon discovered by?
Friedrich Ernst Dorn
Radon/Discoverers
What is radon known for?
Radon is a colourless and odourless gas. It is chemically inert, but radioactive. Radon decays into radioactive polonium and alpha particles. This emitted radiation made radon useful in cancer therapy.
Is radon still a thing?
Radon is a naturally-occurring radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. Radon gas is inert, colorless and odorless. Radon is naturally in the atmosphere in trace amounts. Outdoors, radon disperses rapidly and, generally, is not a health issue.
What are radon daughters?
Radon emits alpha particles and produces several solid radioactive products called radon daughters or “progeny”. Some amounts of radon gas and radon progency are present everywhere in the soil, water, and air. Particularly high radon levels occur in regions where the soil or rock is rich in uranium.
Where did radon come from?
Radon is constantly being generated by the radium in rocks, soil, water and materials derived from rocks and soils, such as certain building materials. Radium is a decay product of uranium which is naturally occurring in the soils and rocks of the earth’s crust.
What rocks cause radon gas?
Radon is more commonly found where uranium is relatively abundant in bedrock at the surface, often in granite, shale, and limestone. The EPA produced a map of the US showing geographic variation in radon concentrations, divided into three levels of risk: low, medium, and high (Figure 10.21).
What is the difference between radium and radon?
The key difference between radon and radium is that radon is a noble gas, whereas radium is a radioactive element. However, both these elements are radioactive because they have large atomic numbers. Furthermore, Radon is the intermediate decay product of radium.
What is a fun fact about radon?
Radon is an odorless and invisible radioactive gas naturally released from rocks, soil, and water. Radon can get trapped inside homes and buildings and build up in the air. Over time, breathing in high levels of radon can cause lung cancer.
Do all basements have radon?
Basements aren’t the only place you can find radon. This is a common assumption since radon is most commonly found in basements. Unfortunately, it’s also very wrong. Radon gas can be found anywhere in any home, not just in the basement.
When was radon first discovered?
In 1908 William Ramsay and Robert Gray isolated the gas and named it niton. Since 1923, it has been called radon (after radium, one of its sources). Radon was one of the earliest discovered radioactive elements, identified after uranium, thorium, polonium and radium.
Is RADON a radioactive element?
Since 1923, it has been called radon (after radium, one of its sources). Radon was one of the earliest discovered radioactive elements, identified after uranium, thorium, polonium and radium. The image below shows the average radioactivity intensity in the world’s atmosphere caused by radon.
What is radon in environmental health?
Environmental Health. Radon is a naturally-occurring gas produced by the radioactive decay of the element radium. Radon itself is radioactive because it also decays to form the element polonium.
What is the source of radon gas?
Source: Radon is produced naturally by the radioactive decay of uranium and other elements, such as radium. For example, 222Rn is produced by the decay of radium (226Ra). Isotopes: Radon has 33 isotopes whose half-lives are known, with mass numbers 196 to 228.