cobalt-60
Cancer treatment radiation
Cobalt-60 is a radioactive isotope of cobalt, produced by neutron bombardment in nuclear reactors.
It emits powerful gamma rays, making it useful in radiation therapy for cancer treatment, industrial radiography, and food sterilization.
Its five-year half-life means it requires careful handling and eventual replacement: The hospital's cobalt-60 source needed to be refreshed.
Unstable atomic form emitting radiation
- half-lifePeriod for fifty-percent reduction
- gamma raysHighest-frequency electromagnetic radiation
- beta decayRadioactive nucleon transformation process
- reactorControlled fission apparatus
spent fuel · cyclotron · activity · specific activity · radioactive decay · nuclear reactor · transmutation
Medical radiation for cancer
- cancer treatmentMedical intervention for malignancy
- gamma knifeFocused-beam brain treatment device
- teletherapyMental health via distance
- oncologyCancer medicine specialty
brachytherapy · radiation oncology · radiosurgery · dosimetry · fractionation · linear accelerator · malignancy · curie
Contact with ionizing energy
- contaminationIntroduction of impurities
- shieldingProtecting from harm
- dirty bombExplosive spreading radioactive contamination
- radiation sicknessIllness from ionizing exposure
radioactive waste · disposal · decommissioning · IAEA · safety protocols
Complete elimination of microbes
- radiographyDiagnostic imaging using X-rays
- gaugingMeasuring or estimating
- quality controlMaintaining production standards
radioactive isotope
Unstable atomic form emitting radiation
- half-lifePeriod for fifty-percent reduction
- gamma raysHighest-frequency electromagnetic radiation
- beta decayRadioactive nucleon transformation process
reactor · spent fuel · cyclotron · activity · specific activity · radioactive decay · nuclear reactor · transmutation
radiotherapy
Medical radiation for cancer
- cancer treatmentMedical intervention for malignancy
- gamma knifeFocused-beam brain treatment device
- teletherapyMental health via distance
oncology · brachytherapy · radiation oncology · radiosurgery · dosimetry · fractionation · linear accelerator · malignancy · curie · treatment planning
radiation exposure
Contact with ionizing energy
- contaminationIntroduction of impurities
- shieldingProtecting from harm
- dirty bombExplosive spreading radioactive contamination
radiation sickness · radioactive waste · disposal · decommissioning · IAEA · safety protocols
sterilization
Complete elimination of microbes
- radiographyDiagnostic imaging using X-rays
- gaugingMeasuring or estimating
- quality controlMaintaining production standards
- Canadian InnovationsCanadarm, IMAX, snowmobile, pacemaker, Ski-Doo
- radiation sourcessun, uranium, plutonium, radium, radon
- radioactivityradioactive decay, radioactive isotopes, radioisotopes, radionuclides, half-life
- radiobiologyradiobiology, DNA damage, mutations, ionizing radiation, cell damage
- isotope methodsradioisotopes, radiotracers, radioactive tracers, carbon-14, tritium
- radioactive materialsuranium, plutonium, radium, thorium, radon
cobalt-60antioxidant
Oxidation-preventing molecule
medicine · nutrient · vitamin · restorative