Can radioactivity be stopped?

No, there is no practical way to stop the radioactivity of radioactive materials. One could bombard the material with neutrons. Some of the neutrons would be absorbed and change the material into a different radioactive element with a different half-life.

Will the radioactive decay of an element ever stop?

The atoms keep transforming to new decay products until they reach a stable state and are no longer radioactive. The majority of radionuclides only decay once before becoming stable.

Can radioactivity be destroyed?

The radioactive decay process has been sped up (NB: in a reactor, this process uses a lot of neutrons). If they are bombarded by neutrons with the right amount of energy, they undergo fission, which destroys them. Attempts will be made to destroy them by incorporating them into fuel for specialised reactors.

How do you remove radioactivity?

Methods such as boiling, Chlorination (use of household chlorine bleach), and purification tablets remove microorganisms. More rigorous modes of purification are used to rid the water of other wastes including radioactive materials.

Can radioactive decay be reversed?

Yes, radioactive decay is reversible in time. If you imagine filming the decay process, and then running the movie backwards, what you would see is a perfectly allowed process: the decay products come together and form the original nucleus.

Can radioactive decay be accelerated?

Yes there is a way to speed up nuclear decay rates. The ionisation state of the specie has some effect on the decay rate.

Can you Neutralise radiation?

These important aspects of radiation emited from various radioactive materials can not be changed; they are inherrent to the nucleus that is decaying and can not be “treated away”. So, is it “theoretically” possible to completely neutralize radioactive isotopes so they are harmless right from a reactor?” NO.

Can you destroy nuclear waste?

It can be done. Long-term nuclear waste can be “burned up” in the thorium reactor to become much more manageable. If not for long-term radioactive waste, then nuclear power would be the ultimate “green” energy.

Can you boil radioactive water?

Boiling tap water does not get rid of radioactive material. You should have bottled water in your emergency supplies. You can drink water, juices, or other drinks in sealed containers.

Can you filter radioactive water?

Treating irradiated water Water can be filtered to remove different types of radiation, with the two recognised ways of treating contaminated water being reverse osmosis and ion exchange. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that ion exchange is particularly effective at removing cesium-137.

Can we speed up radioactive decay?

The rate of this kind of decay depends on the chance of an electron straying into the nucleus and getting absorbed. So increasing the density of electrons surrounding the atomic nucleus can speed up the decay.

Does temperature affect half-life?

Although chemical changes are sped up or slowed down by changing factors such as temperature and concentration, these factors have no effect on half-life. Each radioactive isotope will have its own unique half-life that is independent of any of these factors.

Is there a way to stop the radioactivity of radioactive materials?

No, there is no practical way to stop the radioactivity of radioactive materials. One could bombard the material with neutrons. Some of the neutrons would be absorbed and change the material into a different radioactive element with a different half-life.

How do you stop a nuclear reaction from happening?

You cannot stop it. If you change the stuff internally then you change the nucleus. You can do this by forceful reaction (transmutation) but then you have a new material or the same material in new nuclear state. Many physical properties may change with this change. For example the probability of doing reactions.

Can the decay half-life of a radioactive material be changed?

Public Domain Image, source: Christopher S. Baird. Yes, the decay half-life of a radioactive material can be changed. Radioactive decay happens when an unstable atomic nucleus spontaneously changes to a lower-energy state and spits out a bit of radiation. This process changes the atom to a different element or a different isotope.

How do you dispose of radioactive waste?

One method in most cases (for example with radioactive wastes) is to properly cover up the material so that radioactivity doesn’t leak to the open atmosphere, and leave this “shielded” material for some time (hours, days, years, centuries!!) to decay on its own.