Radiation , Types of Radiation , uses and The effect

Radiation, as used in physics, is energy in the form of waves or moving subatomic particles. Radiation can be classified as ionizing or non-ionizing radiation, depending on its effect on atomic matter. The most common use of the word "radiation" refers to ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation has enough energy to ionize atoms or molecules while non-ionizing radiation does not. Radioactive material is a physical material that emits ionizing radiation.

This shows three different types of radiation and their penetration levels

Types of Radiation

Electromagnetic radiation !Energy in the form of electromagnetic waves or photons." o #on-ionizing Thermal radiation !heat radiation" Radio waves $icrowave radiation, as used in microwave ovens Infrared radiation !IR", produced by heat %isible light light that is visible to the na&ed eye 'ltraviolet radiation !'%" is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than soft (-rays. o Ionizing (-rays, used in radiography for medical diagnosis )amma radiation, usually emitted by radioactive atoms *article radiation !Energy in the form of moving subatomic particles." o +lpha radiation, composed of the nuclei of helium-, atoms o -eta radiation, consisting of energetic electrons or positrons o #eutron radiation, consisting of neutrons

The effect of magnetic and electric fields on these particles.rays

*ositively charged alpha particles are deflected by both magnetic and electric fields. #egatively charged beta particles are also deflected by both types of fields, but in the opposite direction from alpha particles. #eutrons and electromagnetic radiation have no charge, and are unaffected by electromagnetic fields.

(-rays !or R/ntgen rays" are a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength in the range of
01 to 1.10 nanometers, corresponding to fre2uencies in the range 31 *4z to 31 E4z. (-rays are primarily used for diagnostic radiography and crystallography. (-rays are a form of ionizing radiation and as such can be dangerous. In many languages it is called Rntgen radiation after one of the first

investigators of the (-rays, 5ilhelm 6onrad R/ntgen. +n (-ray picture !radiograph", ta&en by 5ilhelm R/ntgen in 0789, of his wife, +nna -ertha :udwig;s<0= hand

(-rays are a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths of around 01-01 metres. 5hen medical (-rays are being produced, a thin metallic sheet is placed between the emitter and the target, effectively filtering out the lower energy !soft" (-rays. This is often placed close to the window of the (-ray tube. The resultant (-ray is said to be hard. >oft (-rays overlap the range of e?treme ultraviolet. The fre2uency of hard (-rays is higher than that of soft (-rays, and the wavelength is shorter. 4ard (-rays overlap the range of "long"-wavelength !lower energy" gamma rays, however the distinction between the two terms depends on the source of the radiation, not its wavelength@ (-ray photons are generated by energetic electron processes, gamma rays by transitions within atomic nuclei. (-ray A-series spectral line wavelengths !nm" for some common target materials.<9= Target De #i 6u Hr AB 1.0EF99 1.0F110 1.038GGG 1.1E10E3 AB 1.0E,,G 1.0,779 1.037018 1.197883 AC 1.08391, 1.09FE80 1.0F,1F9 1.1E7F83 2 AC 1.083887 1.0990EF 1.0F,,38 1.1E810F

$e

1.193GG8

1.19G188

1.1E1831

1.1E03F8

The basic production of (-rays is by accelerating electrons in order to collide with a metal target. !In medical applications, this is usually tungsten or a more crac& resistant alloy of rhenium !FI" and tungsten !8FI", but sometimes molybdenum for more specialised applications, such as when soft (-rays are needed as in mammography. In crystallography, a copper target is most common, with cobalt often being used when fluorescence from iron content in the sample might otherwise present a problem". 4ere the electrons suddenly decelerate upon colliding with the metal target and if enough energy is contained within the electron it is able to &noc& out an electron from the inner shell of the metal atom and as a result electrons from higher energy levels then fill up the vacancy and (-ray photons are emitted. This process is e?tremely inefficient !J1.0I" and thus to produce reasonable flu? of (-rays plenty of energy has to be wasted into heat which has to be removed. The spectral lines generated depends on the target !anode" element used and thus are called characteristic lines. 'sually these are transitions from upper shells into A shell !called A lines", into : shell !called : lines" and so on. There is also a continuum Bremsstrahlung radiation given off by the electrons as they are scattered by the strong electric field near the high-H !proton number" nuclei. (-rays can detect cancer, cysts, and tumors. Kue to their short wavelength, in medical applications (rays act more li&e a particle than a wave. This is in contrast to their application in crystallagraphy, where their wave-li&e nature is most important. #owadays, for many !non-medical" applications, (-ray production is achieved by synchrotrons !see synchrotron light". To create a blood or artery (-ray, also called digital angiography, iodine is inLected into the veins and a digitized image is created. Then, a second image is established of only the parts of the (-rayed section without iodine. The first image is subtracted then a final image is produced containing both the first and second images together. :astly, the results are printed. The doctor or surgeon then compares the results of the angiography to a perfect angiography structure to see if there are any malfunctions. To ta&e an (-ray of the bones, no iodization is re2uired. >hort (-ray pulses are shot through a body at first. #e?t, the bones absorb the most waves because they are more dense and contain 6a which absorbs stronger than the carbon, o?ygen, and nitrogen atoms of soft tissue !due to more electrons in 6a atom".

$edical uses

(-Ray Image of the *aranasal >inuses, :ateral *roLection >ince R/ntgen;s discovery that (-rays can identify bony structures, (-rays have been developed for their use in medical imaging. Radiology is a specialized field of medicine. Radiographers employ radiography and other techni2ues for diagnostic imaging. Indeed, this is probably the most common use of (-ray technology. (-rays are especially useful in the detection of pathology of the s&eletal system, but are also useful for detecting some disease processes in soft tissue. >ome notable e?amples are the very common chest (-ray, which can be used to identify lung diseases such as pneumonia, lung cancer or pulmonary edema, and the abdominal (-ray, which can detect ileus !bloc&age of the intestine", free air !from visceral perforations" and free fluid !in ascites". In some cases, the use of (-rays is debatable, such as gallstones !which are rarely radiopa2ue" or &idney stones !which are often visible, but not always". +lso, traditional plain (-rays pose very little use in the imaging of soft tissues such as the brain or muscle. Imaging alternatives for soft tissues are computed a?ial tomography !6+T or 6T scanning", magnetic resonance imaging !$RI" or ultrasound. >ince G11F, (-rays are listed as a carcinogen by the '.>. government. Radiotherapy, a curative medical intervention, now used almost e?clusively for cancer, employs higher energies of radiation. The efficiency of (-ray tubes is less than GI. $ost of the energy is used to heat up the anode.

Mther uses

Each dot, called a reflection, in this diffraction pattern forms from the constructive interference of scattered (-rays passing through a crystal. The data can be used to determine the crystalline structure. 4

Mther notable uses of (-rays include

(-ray crystallography in which the pattern produced by the diffraction of (-rays through the closely spaced lattice of atoms in a crystal is recorded and then analyzed to reveal the nature of that lattice !most notably used by Rosalind Dran&lin to discover the double heli? structure of K#+". (-ray astronomy, which is an observational branch of astronomy, which deals with the study of (-ray emission from celestial obLects. (-ray microscopic analysis, which uses electromagnetic radiation in the soft (-ray band to produce images of very small obLects. (-ray fluorescence, a techni2ue in which (-rays are generated within a specimen and detected. The outgoing energy of the (-ray can be used to identify the composition of the sample. *aintings are often (-rayed to reveal the underdrawing and pentimenti or alterations in the course of painting, or by later restorers. $any pigments such as lead white show well in (-ray photographs

)amma rays !denoted as N" are a form of electromagnetic radiation or light emission of
fre2uencies produced by sub-atomic particle interactions, such as electron-positron annihilation or radioactive decay. )amma rays are generally characterized as electromagnetic radiation having the highest fre2uency and energy, and also the shortest wavelength, within the electromagnetic spectrum, i.e. high energy photons. Kue to their high energy content, they can cause serious damage when absorbed by living cells

'ses
-ecause the wavelength of gamma radiation is so short, a single incident photon can impart significant damage to a living cell. This property means that gamma radiation is often used to &ill living organisms, in a process called irradiation. +pplications of this include sterilising medical e2uipment !as an alternative to autoclaves or chemical means", removing decay-causing bacteria from many foodstuffs or preventing fruit and vegetables from sprouting to maintain freshness and flavour. Kue to their tissue penetrating property, gamma rays.(-rays have a wide variety of medical uses such as in 6T >cans and radiation therapy !see X-ray". 4owever, as a form of ionizing radiation they have the ability to effect molecular changes, giving them the potential to cause cancer when K#+ is affected. The molecular changes can also be used to alter the properties of semi-precious stones, and is often used to change white topaz into blue topaz. Kespite their cancer-causing properties, gamma rays are also used to treat some types of cancer. In the procedure called gamma-&nife surgery, multiple concentrated beams of gamma rays are directed on the growth in order to &ill the cancerous cells. The beams are aimed from different angles to focus the radiation on the growth while minimizing damage to the surrounding tissues.

4ealth effect
The gamma rays are the most dangerous form of radiation emitted by a nuclear e?plosion because of the difficulty in stopping them. They are also the smallest ray in the electromagnetic spectrum. )amma-rays are not stopped by the s&in. They can induce K#+ alteration by interfering with the genetic material of 5

the cell. K#+ double-strand brea&s are generally accepted to be the most biologically significant lesion by which ionizing radiation causes cancer and hereditary disease.<0=. + study done on Russian nuclear wor&ers e?posed to e?ternal whole-body gamma radiation at high cumulative doses shows the lin& between radiation e?posure and death from leu&emia, lung, liver, s&eletal and other solid cancers.<G=. +longside radiation, gamma-rays also produce thermal burn inLuries and induce an immunosuppressive effect

+lpha decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle !two
protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium nucleus" and transforms !or ;decays;" into an atom with a mass number , less and atomic number G less. Dor e?ample
<0=

although this is typically written as

!The second form is preferred because the first form appears electrically unbalanced. Dundamentally, the recoiling nucleus is very 2uic&ly stripped of two electrons to neutralize the ionized helium cation." +n alpha particle is identical to a helium-, nucleus, and both mass number and atomic number are the same. +lpha decay is a form of nuclear fission where the parent atom splits into two daughter products. +lpha decay is fundamentally a 2uantum tunneling process. 'nli&e beta decay, alpha decay is governed by the strong nuclear force. +lpha particles have a typical &inetic energy of F $e% !that is O1.03I of their total energy, i.e. 001 TP.&g" and a speed of 0F,111 &m.s. This corresponds to a speed of around 1.1Fc. -ecause of their relatively large mass, QG charge and relatively low velocity, they are very li&ely to interact with other atoms and lose their energy, so they are effectively absorbed within a few centimeters of air.

'ses
+mericium-G,0 is used in smo&e detectors. The alpha particles ionize air between a small gap, leading to a small current that can be easily interrupted by smo&e particles.

+lpha decay can provide a safe power source for radioisotope thermoelectric generators used for space probes and artificial heart pacema&ers. +lpha decay is much more easily shielded against than other forms of radioactive decay. *lutonium-G37, for e?ample, re2uires only G.F mm of lead shielding to protect against unwanted radiation.

beta decay
In nuclear physics, beta decay is a type of radioactive decay in which a beta particle !an electron or a positron" is emitted. In the case of electron emission, it is referred to as "beta minus" !BR", while in the case of a positron emission as "beta plus" !BQ". In BR decay, the wea& interaction converts a neutron !n1" into a proton !pQ" while emitting an electron !eR" and an anti-neutrino ! " . +t the fundamental level !as depicted in the Deynman diagram below", this is due to the conversion of a down 2uar& to an up 2uar& by emission of a 5- boson@ the 5- boson subse2uently decays into an electron and an anti-neutrino. In BQ decay, energy is used to convert a proton into a neutron, a positron !eQ " and a neutrino !Se" . >o, unli&e beta minus decay, beta plus decay cannot occur in isolation, because it re2uires energy, the mass of the neutron being greater than the mass of the proton. -eta plus decay can only happen inside nuclei when the absolute value of the binding energy of the daughter nucleus is higher than that of the mother nucleus. The difference between these energies goes into the reaction of converting a proton into a neutron, a positron and a neutrino and into the &inetic energy of these particles. In all the cases where BQ decay is allowed energetically !and the proton is a part of a nucleus with electron shells", it is accompanied by the electron capture process, when an atomic electron is captured by a nucleus with the emission of a neutrino . -ut if the energy difference between initial and final states is low !less than GmecG", then BQ decay is not energetically possible, and electron capture is the sole decay mode. If the proton and neutron are part of an atomic nucleus, these decay processes transmute one chemical element into another. Dor e?ample !beta minus", !beta plus", !electron capture".

-eta decay does not change the number of nucleons A in the nucleus but changes only its charge Z. Thus the set of all nuclides with the same A can be introduced@ these isobaric nuclides may turn into each other via beta decay. +mong them, several nuclides !at least one" are beta stable, because they present local minima of the mass e?cess if such a nucleus has !A, Z" numbers, the neighbour nuclei !A, ZR0" and !A, ZQ0" have higher mass e?cess and can beta decay into !A, Z", but not vice versa. It should be noted, that a beta-stable nucleus may undergo other &inds of radioactive decay !alpha decay, for e?ample". In nature, most isotopes are beta stable, but a few e?ceptions e?ist with half-lives so long that they have not had enough time to decay since the moment of their nucleosynthesis. Mne e?ample is ,1A, which undergoes all three types of beta decay !beta minus, beta plus and electron capture" with half life of 0.GEET018 years. >ome nuclei can undergo double beta decay !BB decay" where the charge of the nucleus changes by two units. In most practically interesting cases, single beta decay is energetically forbidden for such nuclei, because when B and BB decays are both allowed, the probability of B decay is !usually" much higher, preventing investigations of very rare BB decays. Thus, BB decay is usually studied only for beta stable nuclei. :i&e single beta decay, double beta decay does not change A@ thus, at least one of the nuclides with some given A has to be stable with regard to both single and double beta decay. -eta decay can be considered as a perturbation as described in 2uantum mechanics, and thus follows Dermi;s )olden Rule.