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.

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cobalt 60 Cultural  

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

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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

See Examples For:

cobalt 60

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

From Scientific American ● Mar. 11, 2022

In Colorado, for instance, 27 buildings house scary-sounding elements such as cesium 137, cobalt 60, americium 241 and iridium 192.

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

For a while Johnny insisted that he had bought cobalt 60 for $18 from a "Canadian institution," spilled a solution of it on his hands.

From Time Magazine Archive

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