|
|
RADIUM |
 |
|
Uses of Radium Radium does have some commercial and industrial uses but because radium is such a highly radioactive element it has very few uses. The main commercial source for radium is pitchblende, a uranium ore also uraninite, carnotite and autunite are sources for it. Radium bromide is the most important radium compound in that it is used as a source of alpha - rays for the localized treatment of small cancers. Radon a product of radium decomposition is used in radiotherapy and due to its short half-life (4 days) it can only be obtained in very small amounts. Today radium is used in the treatment of only a few types of cancer. Radium chloride or radium bromide is enclosed in a sealed tube and inserted in the diseased tissue. When the effects of radiation weren't well known, small amounts of it were used in the production of luminous paint, clock dials, doorknobs, and other objects, to make them visible in the dark. One of the uses of radium in industry is, radium sulphate is used in radiographic testing instruments used to detect flaws in metals. Another industrial use is to mix radium and beryllium to obtain source of neutrons, to geophysical prospect for petroleum. All isotopes of radium are radioactive and there is only ever any need to make radium metal on very small scales for research purposes. The element is used and handled in the form of radium chloride or radium bromide and practically never in the metallic state.
|
||