ASNT Industrial Radiography Radiation Safety Practice Test

What is the process of bombarding material with excess neutrons called?

1. Activation

2. Radiation decay

3. Ionization

4. Radiological assessment

The correct answer is: Activation

The process of bombarding material with excess neutrons is referred to as activation. This involves the interaction of neutrons with the nuclei of atoms in the material, leading to the formation of radioactive isotopes. When the neutrons are absorbed by the target nuclei, they can cause the nucleus to become unstable, resulting in the emission of radiation as the isotope decays back to stability. This phenomenon is essential in various applications, including nuclear medicine, where activation can be used to create isotopes for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. While the other options refer to different aspects of radiation and radioactivity, they do not specifically describe the process of neutron bombardment. Radiation decay refers to the process by which unstable nuclei lose energy by emitting radiation, ionization pertains to the process of removing electrons from atoms, and radiological assessment involves evaluating radiation exposure and contamination levels. None of these terms encapsulate the specific effect of excess neutrons inducing radioactivity in a target material as activation does.