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Question:

How is iron-59 different from all other isotopes of iron? How is it the same?

The compound that carries oxygen to cells throughout the body contains iron. Iron has an atomic number of 26. Iron-59 is used to diagnose disorders in the blood. How is iron-59 different from all the other isotopes of iron? How is it the same?

Answer:

Iron-59 is radioactive. It decays to cobalt-59 with a half live of 44.5days. When iron-59 decays, also gamma rays will be emitted. These gamma rays can be detected with a gamma detector. This allows to trace iron. It is like a label that you put on iron atoms. You could even trace it when it is inside the body using a gamma camera. I don't know about the blood disorders though. I can just tell you that iron-59 behaves the same as natural iron chemically. Just, you can trace it. You add iron in one place (in a specific chemical compound of your choice) and you see where it gets (into which compound it is transformed).
Iron-59 is radioactive. It decays to cobalt-59 with a half live of 44.5days. When iron-59 decays, also gamma rays will be emitted. These gamma rays can be detected with a gamma detector. This allows to trace iron. It is like a label that you put on iron atoms. You could even trace it when it is inside the body using a gamma camera. I don't know about the blood disorders though. I can just tell you that iron-59 behaves the same as natural iron chemically. Just, you can trace it. You add iron in one place (in a specific chemical compound of your choice) and you see where it gets (into which compound it is transformed).

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