Radioactive Isotopes for Dummies

Carbon and Nitrogen isotopes

In the process of transmitting information, something a lot of them pretend is "informing their readers," the many self-appointed "freelance journalists" and "professional writers" of the internet are somewhat prone to mistakes. We know, we know, what a surprise! The sad fact is that unless you already know something, the unfortunate combination of dumbass and freelancer often results in misinformation and downright stupidity. Take, for instance, a bozo who pounded out more than 500 "stories" – that's the local term for what we politely consider bullbleep – at Seekyt.com. The yutz who calls himself WiseGuy, who we're almost certain isn't Ken Wahl, posted something he called "Radioactive Isotopes." After reading it, we had to wonder whether he actually intended that the "wise" part of his name be ironic. Sadly, we rather doubt it...

WiseGuy begins demonstrating his lack of knowledge about radioactivity – chemistry in general, in fact – in the very first paragraph, when he says that

"Radioactive isotopes, also known as radioisotopes, are any examples of one chemical element which do not have as many neutrons as the usual atom and whose nucleus is unstable..."

We were somewhat taken aback by the concept of a "usual atom," not to mention the baldfaced stupidity in the statement that radioactive isotopes "do not have as many neutrons" as this mythical atom. We guess this is the Guy's way of saying that all atoms of an element have the same number of protons, but different numbers of neutrons. But why didn't he just say that, the idiot? Well, at least he got the "unstable" word right... Wise goes on to "answer" (irony alert) for us the question, "How do Radioactive Isotopes Occur?" Unfortunately, Wise simply blathers a bit about the average person's annual exposure to radioactive isotopes -- and says not one word about how they occur (probably because the idiot has no idea). He does misinform us that "The amount arising from use of radioactive isotopes in medical treatment has risen in recent years due to increased use of computed tomography..."

Ummm, no, Wise: computed tomography (i.e., CT scans) don't use radioisotopes – just lots and lots of X-rays. PET scanning, yes, bone scans, yes, nuclear medicine, yes – CT scans, no. Guy conflates radiation exposure with radioactive isotopes, a rookie mistake. We won't belabor the other asinine statements Mr. Guy makes, except for

"In archeology, [sic] the radioactive isotopes carbon-14, potassium-40, and lead-210 are used to date rocks."

We'll give you C-14, Wise, but the juxtaposition of K-40 or Pb-210 with archaeology certainly exposes some scientific illiteracy: the oldest archaeological sites in the world are 10-12,000 years old, but the minimum age for K-Ar dating is about 250,000 years and for Pb-U it's higher still – in other words, not much use in archaeology. Bullshit like that is why we at the Antisocial Network expose dumbasses like WiseGuy, and why we hand out awards like the Dumbass of the Day. Suck it, Seekyt.

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