radioactive elements
Unstable nuclear matter
Radioactive elements are chemical elements whose atoms have unstable nuclei that spontaneously emit energy or particles—a process called radioactive decay.
Some elements like uranium and radium are naturally radioactive; others become radioactive through bombardment in reactors or accelerators.
Radioactive elements power nuclear plants and medical imaging equipment.
- technetiumFirst artificially produced element
- californiumSynthetic actinide, number ninety-eight
- uraniumElement ninety-two
- nuclear wasteRadioactive disposal material
- einsteiniumSynthetic actinide, number ninety-nine
radon · actinium · polonium · alpha particles · beta decay · carbon-14 · neptunium · astatine · francium · potassium-40 · Geiger counters · tritium · americium · curium · thorium · strontium-90 · fermium · cesium-137
- element groupsalkali metals, halogens, noble gases, transition metals, lanthanides
- core elementsiron, nickel, molten iron, inner core, outer core
- mine reclamationreclamation, revegetation, ecological restoration, mine tailings, tailings
- radioactive decayalpha decay, beta decay, gamma decay, half-life, decay rate
radio, radios, radioactive, radioactivity, radium, radiate, radiation, radiator, radial