Smoke+Detectors

House hold smoke detector The isotope used in smoke detectors is the isotope of Americum-241! it is a radio active element and has a half life of 432 years. A typical smoke detector contains 0.9 microcurie of Americum-241. Smoke detectors are very important because they are in homes and buildings and detect smoke in case of fire warning you to get out or put the fire out! It is very important that you change your smoke detector every 5 years because as they age the isotope Americum-24 has a harder time detecting smoke.

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