![]() ![]() Once you have made the protactinium generator, you can store it with other radioactive materials, taking care to follow your school code of practice and local rules: see the Managing radioactive materials in schools guidance note:Ī polypropylene bottle is preferable to polythene because it is somewhat more resistant to attack by the acid and ketone. Place the bottle in a tray lined with absorbent paper.It can help to shield the lower half of the bottle with some lead. Then run the liquid into the polypropylene bottle and firmly screw down the cap. ![]() Shake the mixture together for about five minutes.To this solution, add 10 cm3 of iso-butyl methyl ketone or amyl acetate.Wash it into a small separating funnel or beaker with 7 cm3 of concentrated hydrochloric acid. Dissolve 1 g of uranyl nitrate in 3 cm3 of water.(A '30 ml' bottle has a capacity of about 35 ml, so there is still room to shake the solution when the total volume is 30 ml.) You can scale them up if you have a larger bottle. These quantities make a total volume of 20 cm3. However, you can make your own if you prefer. One supplier is TAAB Laboratories Equipment Ltd, 3 Minerva House, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, RG7 8NA. It is now possible to purchase the chemicals already made up in a sealed bottle. Preparation of the protactinium generator Read our standard health & safety guidance To limit the risk of radioactive liquids being spilt, there should be special instructions in the local rules for handling (and preparing) this source. Managing radioactive materials in schools It has a half-life of just over a minute, which gives students the chance to measure and analyze the decay in a single lesson. This demonstration uses a protactinium generator to show the exponential decay of protactinium-234, a grand-daughter of uranium. Students can witness one element turning into another and hear (or see) the decrease in the radiation it gives out as it transmutes. Measuring the half-life of a radioactive isotope brings some of the wonder of radioactive decay into the school laboratory. ![]()
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