Radiochemical methods of analysis take advantage of the instability of some elemental isotopes, which decay through the release of alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays, and/or X-rays, provide f...Radiochemical methods of analysis take advantage of the instability of some elemental isotopes, which decay through the release of alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays, and/or X-rays, provide for a selective analysis for one analyte in a complex mixture of other species without the need for a prior separation. In this chapter we review the basics of radioactive decay and its direct application to samples, and two other methods of importance: neutron activation and isotope dilution.
