The radioactivity, also known as radioactivity it's a physical phenomenon from which the atomic nuclei, which are the central parts of the atoms that have a positive charge, of certain chemical elements, are capable of emitting radiation that can, among other things: impress radiographic plates, ionize gases , pass through opaque bodies in the face of normal light, cause fluorescence. For this case, they are called ionizing radiation.
At International system, the unit of measurement of radioactivity is called the becquerel.
The radiations that are emitted can be andlectromagnetic, in the format of X-rays, gamma rays, or, failing that, corpuscular, such is the case of electrons or helium nuclei. Meanwhile, radioactivity may be natural, that manifested by the isotopes that are present in nature; or artificial, represented by radioisotopes that are produced through artificial transformations.
It is worth mentioning that radioactivity will ionize the medium it passes through, this means that ions are produced, which are nothing other than electrically charged atoms or molecules due to the excess or absence of electrons in relation to a neutral atom.
Radioactivity is especially used to obtain nuclear energy, also in medicine, at the request of radiotherapy and in radiodiagnosis and in industry.
Several scientists were involved in the discovery of this phenomenon, in the first instance it is impossible not to mention the French physicist Antoine Henri Becquerel, responsible for the discovery of the radiation emitted by some uranium salts, an event that would happen by chance, something quite common in scientific research.
Meanwhile, the fullest and most important development on the matter would be carried out scientists Marie and Pierre Curie, though, it is worth mentioning that based on Becquerel's discovery. This marriage would discover more radioactive substances such as polonium, radium and thorium, and that the phenomenon of radioactivity is generated exclusively in the nucleus of chemical elements.
On the other hand, it is important to point out that radioactivity can be dangerous to the life of living beings, however, it will depend on the intensity, the duration of exposure to it and the tissue it affects.
Generally, natural radiations do not involve damage if they are kept within a normal level, meanwhile, you have to be careful with artificial ones. An advisable preventive measure, when radiation is high, is to face it with a suitable shield.
