Chem Project Essay

Submitted By oliviavirkler
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Pages: 3
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Olivia Virkler
Chemistry level 1
Mrs. Moreau
November 18, 2014
Smoke Detectors
The smoke detector was invented in 1965 by Duane D. Pearsall and Stanley Bennett
Peterson. The risk of perishing in a fire is reduced by 50% when the home has a working smoke detector. The death rate from reported fires in homes during 2007­2011 that had at least one smoke alarm (0.61 deaths per 100 fires) was one­third (36%) lower than in homes that had no smoke alarms at all (0.95 deaths per 100 fires) according to the National Fire Protection
Association. That statistic alone is enough to push for at least one working smoke detector in every home.
Smoke detectors and alarms are important to home safety. Ionization chamber and photoelectric smoke detectors are the two most common types available. Smoke detectors make use of the ionising properties of alpha particles. They have an ionisation chamber which consists of a positive and negative electrode along with a small amount of the radioisotope
Americium­241. Americium­241 has a half life of 432 years. The Alpha decay formula for
Americium­241 is as follows: 239Pu + 2 n → 240Pu + n → 241Pu → 241Am + β­ This isotope is a good source of alpha particles, and because of its long half life, it is a continuous source of alpha particles. Which means the detector is long lasting and reliable. And even though the battery needs regular replacing, the detector itself doesn’t.

The ionisation chamber consists of open channels allowing the air from the room to flow through it. The alpha particles emitted from the Americium­241 mix with the oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the air causing them to ionise. To ionise means to remove electron/electrons from an atom. Then the alpha particles remove an electron from the oxygen and nitrogen molecules resulting in negatively charged electrons and positively charged atoms.
The negatively charged electrons are attracted to the positive electrode and the same of the positively charged atoms to the negative electrode. A very small current is then generated. The current is then detected by an electrical circuit
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