====== Material ======

“Material” is the term used in Ecolego to identify the modelled items, for example contaminants like radionuclides or chemicals. In other software and literature, material is sometimes referred to as “species”.

==== Radionuclides ====

Requires [[Radionuclide_Toolbox|Radionuclide Toolbox]]. A radionuclide is a special type of material which also has radioactive properties such as half life, element, atomic number etc. When you add radionuclides to your model, Ecolego will automatically handle nuclide decay and in-growth.

===== Adding a new material =====

Materials can be created from the [[Projects_window|Projects window]] and from the [[Materials_window|Materials window]].

**From the [[Projects_window|Projects window]]**

  * Expand the [[Project|Project]] to which you wish to add the material by clicking the + symbol next to it. Right-click on ‘Materials’, and select the type of material that you want from the pop-up menu.

**From the [[Materials_window|Materials window]]**

  * Place the mouse anywhere over the area of this window and right-click. Select the sub-menu “Create” and choose the type of material you want, //or//
  * Click on the {{:New24.png|New}} button on [[windows#Title_bar|title bar]] of this window to create a generic material, or the {{:CreateNuclide24.png|Nuclide}} button to add a [[Radionuclide|radionuclide]]. For more information avaliable here: [[Radionuclide|Radionuclide]] and [[Radionuclide_decay_chain|Radionuclide decay chain]].

==== Adding a radionuclide ====

With the [[Radionuclide_Toolbox|Radionuclide Toolbox]] you will be presented with another button {{:CreateNuclide24.png|Nuclide}} used to a add radionuclides. Clicking the button will display a window

{{  :AddRadionuclide.png|Add Nuclide}}
The list on the left hand side lists all isotopes that are available in the radionuclide database. You select one or more to add to your model by using the arrow buttons.

The **Filters** section allows you to search the database:

  * **Name** - Enter the name, or part of the name, of an isotope
  * **Recent** - Display only radionuclides which have been imported before
  * **Half-life** - Display only radionuclides within a specific half life range.

One of the advantages with this window is that it allows you to add several radionuclides at the same time.

===== Editing materials =====

The material editor is shown by right-clicking the material in a window and selecting **Edit**. In the [[Materials_window|Materials window]], you can also show the editor by selecting the material and clicking the {{:Edit24.png|Edit}} button, or by double-clicking the right-most “validation” column of the material in the table.

The material editor has two tabs:

==== Properties ====

This page lets you edit basic properties such as name and unit. See [[Editing_properties|editing properties]] for more information.

==== Half-life ====

This page is only available when editing radionuclides.

**Mass number** - The mass number of the radionuclide

**Atomic number** - The atomic number of the radionuclide

**Halflife** - The atomic halflife of the radionuclide. The **Time unit** drop down list can be used to select a unit for the halflife.

**Decay constant** - Lets you, as an alternative to enter the atomic halflife, enter the radionuclide decay constant.

===== See also =====

  * The [[Radionuclide_toolbox|Radionuclide toolbox]]
  * The [[Materials_window|Materials window]]
  * [[Index_list|Index lists]]
  * The [[Nuclide_database_window|Nuclide database window]]