Episode Details

Radioactivity has a fearsome reputation, but at its core it's a natural process that's been happening since before the Earth existed — unstable atoms shedding energy to become more stable. This episode demystifies what radioactivity actually is, explains the beautifully regular “half-life” that lets us date rocks and fossils, and puts radiation risk in honest, everyday context rather than either downplaying or exaggerating it.

You'll come away understanding what makes an atom radioactive, the three main types of radiation, what a half-life is and how it dates the past, and how to think sensibly about radiation, which surrounds us naturally all the time.

Talking Science is sponsored by Kinsoft. Visit www.kinsoft.com.au

Further reading: Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) – radiation basics; US EPA – “Radiation Basics”; Britannica – “Radioactivity”.