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Radiation: Beyond the Basics: 30 Facts You Didn’t Know

Radiation or electromagnetic waves have been a subject that many people prefer to avoid because of the negative stories that they have heard. Often, many people have learned about radiation in a negative way such as it is displayed in films where individuals are exposed to radioactive materials and turn into hideous creatures or become superheroes. However, there is more to this amazing diverse phenomenon than just harm, including different forms of radiation, sources, and applications that help use these, supposedly dangerous electronic waves, for the better.

Looking deep into radiation has helped scientists realize that there are three common types of radiation: beta, alpha, and gamma. While the names sound familiar, these forms of radiation have unique features that alter them to have diverse levels of energy, and their effects when they come in contact with other materials including the human body. Knowledge about radiation makes us ready and aware of the dangers that come with exposure. For example, the radiation that was emitted from the atomic bombs such as those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had long-lasting effects on the people in the region.

However, we must also remember that radiation has been harvested to be used to better our lives. We have nuclear energy generation because of the radiation among other uses such as medical imaging using x-rays, and treatment of deadly diseases such as cancer. This article delves deeply into facts beyond basics for us to understand radiation mitigate the risks and embrace its positive applications.

The following are 30 facts about radiation:

1. How Does Radiation Move in the Atmosphere, objects and Human Bodies

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Radiation is simply energy that comes from the source and travels through the atmosphere because it does not require a medium of transportation. The radiation can go through objects depending on the size of the object and the amount of energy in the radiation. Gamma rays and beta particles have high levels of energy that can penetrate through human skin, while alpha particles can be ingested through food. The radiation can either possess high energy levels (ionizing) or have lower energy levels (non-ionizing) causing side effects in the human body.

2. There are Primarily Three Types of Radiation

Although researchers have found neutrons to be different types of radiation, there are three globally recognized types of radiation. The alpha particles are considered the heaviest and most positively charged particles because they have two protons and two neutrons. Their weight prevents them from penetrating through materials and can be stopped by paper. The beta particles on the other hand are emitted during beta decay and can cause skin burns. However, they can be easily stopped by plastic materials. Lastly, gamma rays are the most dangerous because they are highly penetrative and can go through human skin into the body. Although all the above can cause harm to the human body, the gamma rays pose a high risk because of their penetrative power.

3. Radiation Comes from a Variety of Natural and Artificial Sources 

While radiation is equally dangerous and beneficial, the sources can either be generated through scientific research or from natural sources. Some of the natural sources include radon gas which is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can emanate from underground, cosmic radiation which includes cosmic radiation comes from outer space into the earth’s atmosphere and terrestrial radiation which is emitted by radioactive substances such as uranium. other hand, there are multiple artificial sources of radiation including nuclear power, nuclear weapons such as atomic bombs, and medical radiation. All the sources generate different levels of energy which need to be studied and used to benefit human life.

4. Becquerel is the Standard Unit for Measuring Radioactivity 

While Henry Becquerel, his father, and his grandfather were studying phosphorescence, Becquerel got interested in knowing whether the phosphorescence material could also emit other forms of energy. He used uranium salts to experiment by wrapping the materials in black paper and placing them outside to expose them to sun rays. He was surprised when the materials had darkened the photographic plates that he used to cover the uranium salts. The emission of radioactive materials from uranium caused the plates to darken leading to the discovery of radioactivity.

5. Infrared Radiation has Longer Wavelengths than those emmited by Natural sources

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All forms of natural heat are credited for giving infrared radiation which has longer wavelengths than the light that we see. Various sources of heat include stars, galaxies, lamps, and flames. Stars such as the sun emit infrared radiation because of their hot nature while the galaxy has millions of stars that collectively emit infrared radiation. The lamps also emit infrared radiation because they produce light through a heating process. Therefore every source of light that produces heat also produces infrared waves, including celestial bodies.

6. Radiation Comes in Two different Forms

Radiation is a wide phenomenon that has different levels of energy and can be categorized into two major forms: ionizing and non-ionizing radiation.

Ionizing radiation is associated with high energy and a big impact when they come in contact with materials. The radiation carries enough energy to separate electrons from atoms and molecules thus creating electrically charged particles. Alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays have high levels of energy because of ionizing radiation.

On the other hand, non-ionizing radiation includes visible light, microwaves, radio waves, and low-energy ultraviolet radiation. Non-ionizing radiation may produce heat but does not have enough energy to go through matter.

7. Exposure to Small levels of Radiation do not cause Health Effects

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Although many people believe that X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and radiology scans cause headaches and long-term side effects, the truth is that small levels of radiation do not cause health effects. The imaging equipment in medical centers is handled by highly trained personnel to direct them to specific body parts. This process ensures the use of low levels of radiation which does not damage other parts of the body other than the targeted cells.

8. Nuclear Power Plants have High Levels of Radiation 

One extremely unbelievable fact is that nuclear power plants do not pose any known threat to the general public. The energy levels in the power plants have been managed to emit very small amounts of radiation to the environment. Scientists and researchers have concluded that there have been no negative effects caused by radiation from nuclear power plants for more than half a century.

9. Radium was Discovered by a French Scientist, Marie Curie

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Marie Curie alongside her husband Pierre Curie were well-known scientists and researchers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Their consistent research and discovery of radioactivity led them to discover radium, a highly radioactive material in 1898. Their contribution to radioactivity earned them a Nobel Peace Prize in 1903 before her death. Marie Curie’s death was a result of aplastic anemia which was associated with her continuous exposure to radioactive materials without proper safety and care. Her discovery and eventual death led to more research in radioactivity to develop safety measures and use radioactive materials for the betterment of human life.

10. Infrared Radiations travel through Fog, Dust, Plastic, Glass and Thick Smoke

Infrared light has longer wavelengths than visible light and thus can travel through some materials such as plastic and glass. This light can also pass through thick smoke, dust, and fog which makes it ideal to be used for laser guns and in the aviation industry during foggy seasons. The longer wavelengths make it less susceptible to scattering when the light comes in contact with small particles. Infrared light also has lower energy which makes it elusive and cannot be easily absorbed by particles thus penetrating through easily.

11. The Units Used in Measuring Radiation include Mrem, Rem, and Rad

A Millirem is a unit that shows the quantity of biological effects of ionizing radiation on living tissues such as human tissues. Rem on the other hand is a unit that assesses the ionizing impact of ionizing radiation on the human body as well as showing the absorbed dose of radiation. Finally, rad measures energy deposited by ionizing radiation. A Millirem represents one-thousandths of rem.

12. Coal-Fired Power Stations pose a Higher Risk of Radiation

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Although nuclear power plants produce a lot of energy through harnessing nuclear materials, the risk of exposing people to radiation is relatively low. The exposure to ionizing radiation in nuclear power plants is managed well by experts leading to the release of extremely low radiation that has no side effects on human health. Coal-fired power stations on the other hand lead to the emission of higher amounts of energy in the environment. Coal contains radioactive materials such as uranium and thorium which release radiation when burned. Therefore residential homes need to be in a better distance to minimize people’s exposure to radiation from coal-fired power plants.

13. An Average Human ingests around Three Hundred Millirem of Radiation Each Year

The rate of absorption of radiation varies depending on different factors such as geographical location and people’s lifestyle. However, an estimated three hundred milligrams are absorbed by most individuals per year due to exposure to natural background radiation such as cosmic radiation and terrestrial radiation. Additionally, artificial background radiation such as medical procedures and consumer products can contribute to the exposure to radiation.

14. Rattlesnakes have Special Features to see Infrared Light 

Since infrared radiation produces light with longer wavelengths than visible light, we cannot see the infrared light. However, rattlesnakes have heat-sensing pits around their mouth that are used to detect the presence of infrared light. The pits are very sensitive to temperature changes, thus detecting the infrared radiation emitted by warm-blooded animals including prey and predators. The rattlesnake’s remarkable characteristics make them excellent hunters and can detect danger from humans.

15. All Radioactive Elements Change in Form during the Radioactive Decay Process

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Radioactive elements are unstable isotopes because of possess excessive energy or imbalanced neutrons and protons. The elements go through radioactive decay to attain a more stable state by releasing energy and particles such as alpha and beta. The release of energy and particles reduces the energy contained in the element thus attaining a more stable state. Radioactive decay continues until the element stable isotopes which can be less or not radioactive at all.

16. Half-life is the Period that one Half of a Group of Atoms take through Radioactive Decay 

Different elements have different timelines when it comes to going through radioactive decay. Some elements can take as few as milliseconds to attain a stable state while others take millions of years to go through the same process. The difference in time depends on the instability of the isotopes as those who take longer are more unstable.

17. Wilhelm Roentgen Discovered the X-ray in Nineteenth Century

Before Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity in the late nineteenth century, Wilhelm Roentgen had made a breakthrough by discovering X-rays. The German physicist discovered it while experimenting with cathode rays. Realizing that the fluorescent screen in his laboratory would glow even when they were not in the direct path of cathode rays, Roentgen discovered an unknown radiation and named it x-rays. He would later on use the discovery to make X-ray images of his wife’s hand marking the beginning of medical imaging using radiation.

18. Radon Gas is radioactive and toxic to Human Health

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The colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas emitted as a byproduct of the radioactive decay of elements such as uranium, thorium, and radium has high risks to human health. Radon gas is thought to be the second leading cause of lung cancer. The gas is emitted from the crust of the earth when the radioactive matter goes through radioactive decay. Radon can infiltrate into houses through cracks and into the environment posing danger to people.

19. Factors such as the Period of Exposure to Radiation and age Affect the Dose

Exposure to radiation and getting a dose over a longer period is less harmful than the same dose received at one time because of the energy concentration. Furthermore, children are more likely to risk their lives when exposed to radiation. Lastly, people are in less danger when they expose a part of their body to radiation than the entire body.

20. Exposure to Radiation has Different Effects on the Human Body

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People living in places that were struck by atomic bombs exhibit changes in their bodies for a long period because exposure to radiation damages the DNA in human cells. The radiation can also cause acute radiation syndrome and researchers found that long-term radiation exposure can cause cancer.

21. Polonium, a Highly Radioactive Element Discovered in the Twentieth Century 

Marie Curie and her husband continued with radioactivity research taking over from Henri Becquerel after he discovered radioactivity during an experiment on uranium. The pair discovered that uranium had more than one substance and in fact, had two substances that were more radioactive than the ore. The substances were radium which was a Latin name meaning ray and polonium which was named after Marie Curie’s homeland, Poland.

22. The Early Scientists did not understand their Discoveries on Radiation

The pioneers of radiation research were confused about their discoveries and could not piece everything together. After discovering radioactivity by using uranium, Becquerel believed that radioactivity was a form of fluorescence. Marie Curie on the other hand had concluded that uranium and other radioactive elements would absorb the X-rays and release them later through radioactivity. Several other scientists such as Guglielmo Marconi whose work on radio waves earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1909 would not explain how he helped transmit radio waves over long distances.

23. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing Contributed to the study of Negative Effects of Radiation

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Although the atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki claimed many lives, scientists found the opportunity to study the effects of radiation on human life by using the survivors. The research led to the starting of the Life Span Study by the National Academy of Sciences. More than a hundred and twenty thousand survivors provided information that has been used to conclude that there is a direct relationship between exposure to radiation and the risk of contracting cancer in future dates.

24. The 1986 Chernobyl Disaster was the biggest Accident in the History of Nuclear Power Plants

The Chernobyl accident remains the most devastating and catastrophic nuclear disaster in history because of the high levels of energy released into the environment causing possible health issues. The radiation continued for many years and the power plant is still releasing radiation in the environment.

25. Radiation can alter both Internal and External Human Features 

Apart from causing cancer, damaging DNA, and other side effects, radiation is thought to change the appearance of the physical human body. A firefighter at the Chernobyl disaster was reported to have had his eyes changing color from brown to blue because he was exposed to high energy levels of radiation.

26. We are exposed to Different Forms of Radiation in Our Daily Lives

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Radiation is everywhere and we are all exposed to it at different levels of energy. All natural sources of radiation such as cosmic radiation, terrestrial radiation, and radon gas contribute highly to our daily exposure to radiation because they occur naturally. However, there are also sources of radiation that have been generated by human activities. Medical procedures such as medical imaging, x-rays, and CT scans expose us to radiation at lower levels of energy and can be mitigated. There is also ultraviolet radiation which is contained in ultraviolet rays generated by sunlight which has the potential to cause skin burns.

27. Radiation Levels can be detected to Monitor Possible Exposure for Safety

Tracking the levels of radiation in our environment is important to ensure we are living in safe environments. Scientists have created various instruments and devised methods for this purpose. The Geiger-Muller counter is an instrument that can be carried around and is used to detect the presence of ionizing radiations including beta particles, alpha particles, and gamma rays. There are also other large-scale instruments used in industries to measure the levels of radiation in the environment including scintillation detectors, radiation survey meters, and ionizing chambers among others.

28. Smoking exposes People to High Amounts of Radiation 

Tobacco smoke has the radioactive isotope polonium-210 which exposes smokers to radiation over a long period of smoking. Researchers have found that smokers are exposed to radiation that is equivalent to more than two hundred chest X-rays in a year. The continued exposure puts smokers at a high risk of becoming lung cancer patients in the future.

29. Flight Crews are more Exposed to Radiation than Nuclear Plant Workers

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The reason why flight crews are classified as radiation workers is because they are exposed to radiation at a higher level than people working in a nuclear power plant. The higher the planes fly in the sky, the higher the radiation exposure. Flights that go for longer distances at high altitudes expose their workers and passengers to radiation.

30. A Secret Project in Manhattan Tested Effects of Radiation on Citizens

As a result of the experiment, more than a thousand people in Manhattan died due to radiation exposure. Pregnant women injected with radioactive mixtures and children who fed on radioactive oatmeal had the highest mortality rate.

The world of radiation is inseparable from our world and all we can do is learn to coexist with this dangerous but important phenomenon. Ranging from the alpha and beta particles as well as strong gamma rays, we have learned that radiation comes in different forms and helps in different capacities. Deep knowledge beyond basics exposes the risks and usefulness that come with radiation. Lest we forget, there are life-endangering risks when human beings are exposed to dangerous radiation. History has all the evidence we need after witnessing how radiation from atomic bombs has messed up people’s lives.

Conversely, we must also remember the good that radiation has had on the modern world. The production of nuclear energy is possible because of radiation. Today, modern hospitals are equipped with X-rays that help in photo imaging. Radiation helps in treating cancer among several other important uses. The never-ending scientific research of radiation continues to uncover the unknown truth about the topic while preparing humanity to be ready to deal with the risks that come with radiation. The thirty facts in this article are a stepping stone for us to deeply understand how radiation works and be encouraged to appreciate the significant importance of radiation.