What do your phone, the sun, the stove, distant black holes, and the palms of your hands all share in common?Radiation; it is ubiquitous.
Greetings, friends! Trace here, emitting and absorbing radiation at your eyes for DNews! When I mention radiation, most individuals react in a certain way, but to be frank, radiation by itself is not necessarily harmful!
What is radiation?
The term radiation encompasses a wide range of phenomena; gamma rays emitted by stars qualify as radiation, as does the heat radiating from pavement on a scorching day, and the radio waves transmitted and received by cell phones, radio stations, and WiFi networks are also forms of radiation — even the light you are viewing on this screen is a type of radiation.
The reality is that while radio, microwave, visible, and infrared waves are all technically forms of radiation,
Ionizing Radiation
When we refer to radiation, the majority of people associate it with hazardous high-energy particles known as IONIZING radiation.
This category includes Ultraviolet rays, X-Rays, and Gamma Rays. This association is understandable, but what effects can these particles have on your body when they come into contact with it?
In 1927, Hermann Muller published a paper in the journal Science demonstrating that the ionizing radiation from x-rays caused genetic damage in fruit flies.
He subsequently received a Nobel Prize!
Ionizing radiation is characterized by its high energy. It possesses a significant amount of energy.
When a high-energy particle or wave interacts with an atom, the atom absorbs this energy, resulting in the ejection of the weakest electron!
This process generates a charged atom known as an ion!
Radiation sickness
If this occurs repeatedly, the accumulated high energy can induce chemical alterations in our tissues. If ionizing radiation impacts too many cells simultaneously, or if we absorb a substantial amount over time — that is when we face the risk of illness, radiation poisoning, or ultimately cancer.
This situation arises when radiation alters the structural integrity of biological components.
It may dislodge fragments of our DNA, disrupt its configuration, or, in the worst-case scenario, sever one or both strands of the DNA double helix!
While this alone may not be detrimental, the body can sometimes err in its attempts to repair such damage — leading to widespread complications.
Radiation Dosage
However, it is likely that you will not need to be overly concerned about the amount of radiation exposure you receive. Radiation dosage is quantified in sieverts.
A single sievert over a brief period can lead to radiation sickness, while 10 sieverts can be fatal. Nevertheless, since encountering a full sievert is uncommon, scientists typically refer to millisieverts.
Annually, simply living on Earth subjects us to 2.4 mSv from natural background radiation, which is considered safe.
For instance, a chest x-ray amounts to 6.8 mSv; thus, while a single x-ray is not harmful, multiple x-rays over your lifetime (or all at once) can sufficiently damage your tissues, potentially leading to health issues.
Types of Radiation
As if that were not complex enough, there exist various forms of ionizing radiation!
Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and X-Rays are categorized according to their increasing energy levels. Alpha radiation is the slow-moving large particle that cannot penetrate your body effectively, as it is essentially a cluster of protons and neutrons.
Beta radiation consists of small, fast-moving electrons; it can penetrate your body but is unable to pass through denser materials such as aluminum.
Gamma radiation, on the other hand, is pure energy traveling at high speeds! Its minuscule size allows it to move between your cells, but if it interacts with your DNA, it can cause significant harm, although it will not turn you green and invulnerable.
In fact, gamma radiation is so energetic that it can traverse your body, aluminum, and even concrete walls, though it cannot penetrate lead due to its density. X-Rays are similar to gamma rays but possess lower energy levels.
Ultimately, you likely do not need to be excessively concerned about ionizing radiation. Ultraviolet rays can damage DNA over time, so it is advisable to apply sunscreen.
X-Rays are subject to strict regulations, and ideally, you have not spent excessive time near uncontrolled nuclear reactions or exposed yourself to cosmic rays.
Most radiation consists of regular non-ionizing forms. In fact, humans emit infrared radiation in the form of heat, along with some ionizing radiation absorbed from food, such as bananas.
Radiation is ubiquitous! While some of it can be harmful, not all of it is detrimental.
Source:
https://phys.org/tags/radiation
https://www.ans.org/news/tag-radiation
https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/c8wq8k769d1t
