Glossary - I
International
Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (www.iaea.org )
is an agency set up by the United Nations to monitor and promote the peaceful
uses of nuclear energy.
Source: AECL
Ion
An atomic particle, atom or molecule that is electrically charged.
Source: AECL
Ionizing Radiation
Any type of radiation that can, directly or indirectly, change the electric charges of atoms or molecules. It is produced when radionuclides decay.
Source: AECL
Isotope
Different forms of atoms of the same element. They have the same number of protons in their nuclei but a different number of neutrons (the same atomic number but different atomic weights). Uranium-238 and uranium-235 are isotopes of uranium. Isotopes may be stable (not spontaneously decaying) or unstable (spontaneously decaying, emitting ionizing radiation).
Source: AECL
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