cobalt 60

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. a radioactive isotope of cobalt having a mass number of 60 and a half-life of 5.2 years, used chiefly in radiotherapy.

---

cobalt 60 Cultural  

1. A radioactive isotope produced when neutrons bombard atoms of the element cobalt.

---

Discover More

Cobalt 60 is a common substance used in radiation therapy for cancer.

Etymology

Origin of cobalt 60

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

To run the experiment she had in mind, Wu needed to reduce the temperature of radioactive cobalt 60 nuclei until the particles almost stopped moving.

From Scientific American • Mar. 16, 2023

Given all that, replacing cobalt 60 machines does not always go well.

From Scientific American • Mar. 11, 2022

In mid-May, Mr. Watson ventured to the well site, where robotic submersibles were sent down to the seafloor with cobalt 60, a radioactive isotope that generates gamma rays.

From New York Times • Jun. 21, 2010

Since the dangerously radioactive cobalt 60 is not a product of fission, it must have come from some other element, perhaps nonradioactive cobalt 59, exposed to free neutrons given off by the thermonuclear explosion.

From Time Magazine Archive

One clam proved to contain one-tenth of a microcurie of cobalt 60; the other had one-third of a microcurie.

From Time Magazine Archive