What’s so special about Lead that it’s used so extensively when working with radioactive substances?

964 views

Why can’t we use like a sheet of Gold or something

In: Chemistry

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Radiation is stopped by collisions with protons and elections. The denser a material, the more protons and electrons the radiation has to deal with. This is why denser materials are used as radiation shields. Beyond that, it’s a matter of cost. Lead is cheap and abundant on Earth. Gold is not.

You are viewing 1 out of 6 answers, click here to view all answers.