129 Introduction
Chapter Outline
21.1 Nuclear Structure and Stability
21.2 Nuclear Equations
21.3 Radioactive Decay
21.4 Transmutation and Nuclear Energy
21.5 Uses of Radioisotopes
21.6 Biological Effects of Radiation
The chemical reactions that we have considered in previous chapters involve changes in the electronic structure of the species involved, that is, the arrangement of the electrons around atoms, ions, or molecules. Nuclear structure, the numbers of protons and neutrons within the nuclei of the atoms involved, remains unchanged during chemical reactions.
This chapter will introduce the topic of nuclear chemistry, which began with the discovery of radioactivity in 1896 by French physicist Antoine Becquerel and has become increasingly important during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, providing the basis for various technologies related to energy, medicine, geology, and many other areas.