So what makes something radioactive?
Radioactive materials are made up of unstable atoms, called radioisotopes. Radioisotopes stabilize themselves by releasing energy waves or charged particles until they reach a balance of electrons, protons and neutrons. The time required to stabilize a radioactive material varies and is described by the term half life: the amount of time it takes for half of the material’s atoms to stabilize, or decay. A radioactive material’s half life can vary greatly depending on its atomic makeup… Radon gas has a half life of just a few days, where as Carbon 14 has a half life of over 5,000 years. These materials stabilize (a process called radioactive decay) emitting energy and particles, and we call those emissions radiation. Radioactive materials have practical applications, everywhere from on the hands of your glow-in-the-dark wrist watch to powering the appliances in your home if you happen to be a nuclear power customer.
