Explain why a smoke alarm works by emitting and detecting alpha radiation instead of gamma or beta radiation.
Alpha radiation isn't very penetrating and so is absorbed and stopped by smoke particles. This causes a change in count rate when there is smoke present. This change in count rate allows the alarm to be triggered.Beta and gamma radiation aren't stopped by smoke particles and so there would be no change of count rate when smoke is present.
FM
Related Physics GCSE answers
All answers ▸For a vehicule with a constant acceleration (5 m/s^2) starting at rest, how long would it take to travel 1 km?
A roller coaster car starts stationary at the top of a downwards slope. At the bottom of the slope, it has a speed of 30m/s. Use the conservation of energy to find the vertical height of the slope. (Use g=10 m/s^2)
How many times further away from the pivot point of a seesaw does someone of double the weight have to sit in order for the it to balance?
A bomb of mass 34kg, at rest is detonated. The explosion splits the bomb into two pieces, one of mass 13kg, which is thrown to the left at a velocity of 28 m/s. What is the velocity of the second piece?