"Disgruntled Scientist Discovers Radioactive Tracers, Wins Nobel Prize"
Originally Published 2 years ago — by The Conversation
Hungarian chemist George de Hevesy, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1943, discovered radioactive tracers by accident while trying to prove that his food was being recycled at a boarding house cafeteria in 1911. He later used radioactive isotopes as tracers to study chemical processes, leading to significant advancements in various fields such as medicine, materials science, and biology. Today, radioactive tracers are routinely used to monitor disease progression, track nutrient uptake, measure water flow, and study wear and corrosion. Scientists continue to develop new isotopes and innovative applications for radioactive tracers.