Definition

1. Noun:
   • A radioactive isotope of an element: A form of a chemical element that has an unstable nucleus and emits radiation as it decays to a more stable form. Radioisotopes can occur naturally or be produced artificially in laboratories or nuclear reactors.

Usage

• Radioisotopes are used as tracers in medical diagnostics, scientific research, and industrial processes.
• The term is typically used in scientific, medical, and technical contexts.
• It functions as a countable noun (e.g., , ).

Examples

• Noun:
  • Doctors used a radioisotope to track the flow of blood through the patient's heart.
  • Carbon-14 is a naturally occurring radioisotope used in radiocarbon dating.
  • The laboratory specializes in the production of artificial radioisotopes for cancer therapy.

Advanced Usage

• "Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG)": A type of electrical generator that uses the heat from decaying radioisotopes to produce electricity, often used in spacecraft.
  • The Voyager probes are powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators.

Variants and Related Words

• Isotope (n): A form of an element that has the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons. Not all isotopes are radioactive.
• Radionuclide (n): A more general term for any atom with an unstable nucleus that emits radiation. All radioisotopes are radionuclides, but not all radionuclides are isotopes of stable elements (some are entirely synthetic).

Synonyms

• Radioactive isotope: The full descriptive term.
• Unstable isotope: Emphasizes the nuclear instability.

Related Phrases and Compounds

• Radioisotope scan/imaging: A medical diagnostic technique.
  • The radioisotope scan revealed an area of increased metabolic activity.
• Radioisotope dating: A technique for determining the age of materials.
  • Radioisotope dating of the rock sample placed its formation at over a billion years ago.

Noun

1. a radioactive isotope of an element; produced either naturally or artificially