I understand something can become radioactive when it is polluted with radioactive material, The Claw (the crane which was used to clean up Chernobyl) comes into my mind. There is bad stuff on it -> radioactive.
But what about materials which are exposed to emission only? What changes in the material?
What happens for example when a steal plate is put inside LHC and bombarded with high energy particles? Does the protons collide with the electrons, become neutrons, so the iron in the “steal plate” changes into an isotope which is unstable, so it becomes radioactive?
In: Physics
Its when materials are exposed to radiation, high-energy particles can collide with atoms in the material. This collision can alter the nucleus of the atom, making it unstable (radioactive). its like, in the LHC, protons can collide with nuclei, changing them into radioactive isotopes
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