1. What is Radiation?

This figure illustrates the relative abilities of three

different types of ionizing radiation to penetrate solid
matter.
For other uses, see Radiation (disambiguation).

In physics, radiation describes any process in

which energy emitted by one body travels through a
medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by
another body. Non-physicists often associate the word
with ionizing radiation (e.g., as occurring in nuclear
weapons, nuclear reactors, and radioactive substances), but it can also refer toelectromagnetic
radiation (i.e., radio waves, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, and X-rays) which can also be
ionizing radiation, to acoustic radiation, or to other more obscure processes. What makes it radiation is
that the energy radiates (i.e., it travels outward in straight lines in all directions) from the source. This
geometry naturally leads to a system of measurements and physical units that are equally applicable to all
types of radiation.

2. What are the types of Radiation

Ionizing Radiation
Some types of radiation have enough energy to ionize particles. Generally, this involves an electron
being 'knocked out' of an atom's electron shells, which will give it a (positive) charge. This is often
disruptive in biological systems; and can cause mutations and cancer.
These types of radiation generally occur in radioactive decay.

Alpha Radiation
Alpha (α) decay is a method of decay in large nuclei. An alpha particle (A helium nucleus, He2+),
consisting of 2 neutrons and 2 protons, is emitted. Because of the particle's relatively high charge, it is
heavily ionizing and will cause severe damage if ingested. However, due to the high mass of the particle,
it has little energy and a low range; typically alpha particles can be stopped with a sheet of paper (or
skin).
Beta(+/-) Radiation
Beta-minus (β-) radiation consists of a energetic electron. It is less ionizing than alpha radiation, but more
so than gamma. The electrons can often be stopped with a few centimeters of metal. It occurs when a
neutron decays into a proton in a nucleus; release the beta particle and anantineutrino.
Beta-plus (β+) radiation is the emission of positrons. Because these are antimatter particles,
they annihilate any matter nearby, releasing gamma photons. Therefore, they pose no direct risk, although
the gamma photons released do.
Gamma Radiation
Gamma (γ) radiation consists of photons with a frequency of greater than 1019 Hz. Although highly
penetrating, the photons are not typically ionizing because of their massless nature. Gamma radiation
occurs to rid the decaying nucleus of excess energy once it has emitted either alpha or beta radiation.

Non-ionizing Radiation
Non-ionizing (or non-ionising) radiation, by contrast, refers to any type of radiation that does not carry
enough energy per quantum to ionizeatoms or molecules. Most especially, it refers to the lower energy
forms of electromagnetic radiation (i.e., radio waves, microwaves, terahertz radiation, infrared light,
and visible light). The effects of these forms of radiation on living tissue have only recently been studied.
Instead of producing charged ions when passing through matter, the electromagnetic radiation has
sufficient energy only for excitation, the movement of an electron to a higher energy state. Nevertheless,
different biological effects are observed for different types of non-ionizing radiation.[1][2]
Electromagnetic Radiation
Electromagnetic radiation (sometimes abbreviated EMR) takes the form of self-propagating waves in a
vacuum or in matter. EM radiation has an electric and magnetic field component which oscillate in phase
perpendicular to each other and to the direction of energy propagation. Electromagnetic radiation is
classified into types according to the frequency of the wave, these types include (in order of increasing
frequency): radio waves, microwaves, terahertz radiation, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet
radiation, X-rays and gamma rays. Of these, radio waves have the longest wavelengths and Gamma rays
have the shortest. A small window of frequencies, called visible spectrum or light, is sensed by the eye of
various organisms, with variations of the limits of this narrow spectrum. EM radiation carries energy and
momentum, which may be imparted when it interacts with matter.
The electromagnetic spectrum
Light
Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is visible to the human eye (about
400–700 nm), or up to 380–750 nm.[1] More broadly, physicists refer to light as electromagnetic
radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not.
Thermal Radiation
Thermal radiation is the process by which the surface of an object radiates its thermal energy in the form
of electromagnetic waves. Infrared radiation from a common household radiator or electric heater is an
example of thermal radiation, as is the light emitted by a glowing incandescent light bulb. Thermal
radiation is generated when heat from the movement of charged particles within atoms is converted to
electromagnetic radiation. The emitted wave frequency of the thermal radiation is a probability
distribution depending only on temperature, and for a genuine black body is given by Planck’s law of
radiation. Wien's law gives the most likely frequency of the emitted radiation, and the Stefan–Boltzmann
law gives the heat intensity.
Black Body Radiation
Black Body Radiation is a common synonym for thermal radiation . It is so-called because the ideal
radiator of thermal energy would also be an ideal absorber of thermal energy: It would not reflect any
light, and thus would appear to be absolutely black.

3. How does radioation Interact with matter?

The different parts of the electromagnetic spectrumhave very different effects upon interaction with
matter. Starting with low frequency radio waves, the human body is quite transparent. (You can listen to
your portable radio inside your home since the waves pass freely through the walls of your house and
even through the person beside you!) As you move upward throughmicrowaves and infrared to visible
light, you absorb more and more strongly. In the lower ultraviolet range, all the uv from the sun is
absorbed in a thin outer layer of your skin. As you move further up into the x-ray region of the spectrum,
you become transparent again, because most of the mechanisms for absorption are gone. You then absorb
only a small fraction of the radiation, but that absorption involves the more violent ionization events.
Each portion of the electromagnetic spectrum has quantum energies appropriate for the excitation of
certain types of physical processes. The energy levels for all physical processes at the atomic and
molecular levels are quantized, and if there are no available quantized energy levels with spacings which
match the quantum energy of the incident radiation, then the material will be transparent to that radiation,
and it will pass through.

4. What are the biological effects of radiation?

EFFECTS OF RADIATION ON CELLS

Biological effect begins with the ionization of atoms. The mechanism by which radiation
causes damage to human tissue, or any other material, is by ionization of atoms in the
 material. Ionizing radiation absorbed by human tissue has enough energy to remove electrons
from the atoms that make up molecules of the tissue. When the electron that was shared by the
two atoms to form a molecular bond is dislodged by ionizing radiation, the bond is broken and
thus, the molecule falls apart. This is a basic model for understanding radiation damage. When
ionizing radiation interacts with cells, it may or may not strike a critical part of the cell. We
consider the chromosomes to be the most critical part of the cell since they contain the genetic
information and instructions required for the cell to perform its function and to make copies of
itself for reproduction purposes. Also, there are very effective repair mechanisms at work
constantly which repair cellular damage - including chromosome damage.
The following are possible effects of radiation on cells:
Cells are undamaged by the dose
Ionization may form chemically active substances which in some cases alter the structure
of the cells. These alterations may be the same as those changes that occur naturally in
the cell and may have no negative effect.
Cells are damaged, repair the damage and operate normally
Some ionizing events produce substances not normally found in the cell. These can lead
to a breakdown of the cell structure and its components. Cells can repair the damage if it
is limited. Even damage to the chromosomes is usually repaired. Many thousands of
chromosome aberrations (changes) occur constantly in our bodies. We have effective
mechanisms to repair these changes.
Cells are damaged, repair the damage and operate abnormally
If a damaged cell needs to perform a function before it has had time to repair itself, it will
either be unable to perform the repair function or perform the function incorrectly or
incompletely. The result may be cells that cannot perform their normal functions or that
now are damaging to other cells. These altered cells may be unable to reproduce
themselves or may reproduce at an uncontrolled rate. Such cells can be the underlying
causes of cancers.
Cells die as a result of the damage
If a cell is extensively damaged by radiation, or damaged in such a way that reproduction
is affected, the cell may die. Radiation damage to cells may depend on how sensitive the
cells are to radiation.
All cells are not equally sensitive to radiation damage. In general, cells which divide rapidly
and/or are relatively non-specialized tend to show effects at lower doses of radiation then those
which are less rapidly dividing and more specialized. Examples of the more sensitive cells are
those which produce blood. This system (called the hemopoietic system) is the most sensitive
biological indicator of radiation exposure.

5. What are atoms/ molecules?

Atoms are the basic building blocks of matter that make up everyday objects. A desk, the air, even
you are made up of atoms.
There are 90 naturally occurring kinds of atoms. Scientists in labs have been able to make about 25
more.

A molecule is the smallest particle in a chemical element or compound that has the chemical properties of
that element or compound. Molecules are made up ofatom s that are held together by chemical bonds.
These bonds form as a result of the sharing or exchange of electron s among atoms.
The atoms of certain elements readily bond with other atoms to form molecules. Examples of such
elements are oxygen and chlorine. The atoms of some elements do not easily bond with other atoms.
Examples are neon and argon.
Molecules can vary greatly in size and complexity. The element helium is a one-atom molecule. Some
molecules consist of two atoms of the same element. For example, O 2 is the oxygen molecule most
commonly found in the earth's atmosphere; it has two atoms of oxygen. However, under certain
circumstances, oxygen atoms bond into triplets (O 3 ), forming a molecule known as ozone. Other familiar
molecules include water, consisting of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (H 2 O), carbon dioxide,
consisting of one carbon atom bonded to two oxygen atoms (CO 2 ), and sulfuric acid, consisting of two
hydrogen atoms, one sulfur atom, and four oxygen atoms (H 2 SO 4 ).

6. What are isotopes?

An isotope is a variant on a basic element, a substance made of atoms with a different number of neutrons
than is typical. Except for hydrogen, every atomicnucleus in normal matter is made of both protons and
neutrons; the only question is how many of each there are. Typically, the number of protons and neutrons
is the same. In an isotope, this balance is frequently broken. For example, 238U, the most common state
of uranium, has three more neutrons than 235U, the form used in nuclear weapons.
A lack of necessary neutrons makes a nucleus unstable. Protons in the nucleus are positively charged,
meaning they repel each other. The presence of neutrons is necessary to separate these protons slightly,
making the configuration stable. When the configuration is unstable, nuclear decay can result, turning the
atoms into showers of radioactive particles.
The rate at which the isotope decays is given by its half-life, the interval after which half of the material
breaks down. Half-life varies between a fraction of a second and many times longer than the age of the
universe. Some isotopes, likeHelium-3, are not radioactive.
Besides the occasional tendency to be radioactive, an isotope tends to behave similarly to the natural
element it is a variant on. Isotopes can participate in all the same reactions and have approximately the
same mass, except in rare cases. Sometimes, their increased mass means that chemical reactions in which
they participate are slightly slower than usual.
There are many hundreds of known isotopes, and probably hundreds more that we haven’t discovered or
produced yet. The most famous isotope is 235U, because of its use in nuclear energy and weaponry.
“Enriched” uranium is uranium with a higher concentration of this isotope, while “depleted” uranium has
a much lower concentration. An isotopethat is only slightly radioactive can be used as an atomic marker
in medical applications, for example to track the spread of a drug in the body.
Carbon-14, which comprises a trace amount of all carbon on earth, is a radioactive isotope with
concentration levels that can be used to determine the precise age of an artifact or fossil. Helium-3,
thought to exist in large quantities on the moon, is among the most promising long-term fuels for fusion
power reactors. However, utilizing it effectively will require first mastering other forms of fusion.

7. What are the radioactive waves?

 8. What are the beneficial use of isotopes?
Radioactive and stable isotopes are used throughout the world and in many sectors, including medicine,
industry, agriculture and research. In many applications isotopes have no substitute, and in most others
they are more effective and cheaper than alternative techniques or processes.

9. Do radio isotopes remain unstable or radioactive all

the time?
Most isotopes are stable. Unless disturbed by powerful outside forces, the configuration of the nucleus
will remain unchanged indefinitely. Some isotopes, however, are unstable, and will spontaneously decay
into a new nuclear configuration. Such isotopes are called radioactive isotopes.

Unstable isotopes undergo radioactive decay. Decay involves nuclear reactions in which fundamental
changes occur to the nucleus of each atom which decays. There are four basic types of radioactive decay,
three of which are useful in the study of the earth. You should be able to describe and distinguish alpha
decay, beta decay and electron capture, and determine the daughter products from each type of decay.

10.Give some scientist that make contribution in the

development of study in radiation.
Wilhelm Röntgen is credited with the discovery of X-Rays. When experimenting with a vacuum and
a Crooke's tube, he noticed a phosphorescence on a nearby plate of coated glass. While working with
various isotopes ofhydrogen, namely tritium, he found a drastic change in photonic emissions when
measuring electrical charges in a vacuum. When he took pictures of the tritium, he found that the state
of one solid piece would deteriorate quickly. In one month, he discovered the main properties of X-
rays that we understand to this day. Henri Becquerel found that uranium salts caused fogging of an
unexposed photographic plate, and Marie Curie discovered that only certain elements gave off these
rays of energy. She named this behavior radioactivity.
In December 1899, Marie Curie and Pierre Curie discovered radium in pitchblende. This new element
was two million times more radioactive than uranium, as described by Marie.

Submitted by:
Stephanie S. Masalta
Jemflor Ann Imperial
Sarah Joy Arduo