Question

What are the uses of radioactive isotopes in following?
(a) Medical field,
(b) Agriculture,
(c) Industries?

Answer 1

Radioactive isotopes are used in medical fieId

(i) Rays from Radium produce satisfactorily improvement in skin diseases.
(ii) Radiation from Co⁶⁰ is used in cancer treatment.
(iii) Radio I¹³¹ is used to diagnose and treat thyroid di so rde rs.

Radioactive isotopes are used in agriculture
(i) Radioactive Phosphorus p³² is used in the study of metabolism.
(ii) Radioactive Sulphur S³⁵ helps to study advantages and disadvantages of
fungicides.
(iii) Pests and insects can be killed by Y-rad iatio n.

Radioactive isotopes are used in ind us try.
(i) In manufacturing papers, plastic and metal sheets to control the thickness of the sheets.
(ii) Radioisotopes can be used to es ti mate the amount of wear in bearings.
(iii) Radioisotopes can be used to detect crack in welding, casting etc.