Where is ionizing radiation used

Generally speaking, the incoming energies of alpha and beta decay particles, and gamma ray photons are higher than the ionization energies of atoms and molecules. This means that alpha , beta and gamma radiation are all examples of ionizing radiation. Geiger counters work by using this ionization. Geiger counters are instruments that detect ionizing radiation. They can't detect non-ionizing radiation as they rely on ions to make an electrical signal. Different forms of ionizing radiation have different uses.

Radiation therapy, a cancer treatment, relies on beta decay and uses its ionizing properties to kill cancer cells. Ionizing radiation also has uses outside of the medical field.

The ionizing properties of americium results in its use in smoke detectors. Inside the smoke detector alpha particles from the americium are released. For more information on possible health effects from radiation and radiation dose, click here. These low levels of exposure vary with location, altitude and type of building materials used in home construction.

You may also be exposed to the radioactive gas radon if your house or building has a leaky foundation. Every day, we use Ionizing radiation to help us live healthy lives.

Ionizing radiation is found in smoke detectors, used to disinfect medical instruments and blood, and to perform many other tasks in our daily lives. It is also a byproduct of nuclear power generation. Our main exposure to ionizing radiation in manmade sources is through the use of diagnostic medical exams. Ionizing radiation can penetrate the human body and the radiation energy can be absorbed in tissue.

This has the potential to cause harmful effects to people, especially at high levels of exposure. Natural sources of ionizing radiation usually release ionizing radiation at low levels, which also means the amounts of radiation absorbed by our bodies doses is usually small.

Natural sources of ionizing radiation include radioactive elements that are naturally in our body. For example, a very small fraction of the potassium in our bodies is radioactive. Radon, however, is a natural radioactive gas found in rock formations that can release higher levels of radiation that can pose health risks. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. The levels of radon in your home or building depend on a variety of factors.

You can test your home or building to determine whether you or your family is at risk of high levels of radon exposure. For more information on radon, click here. Radioactive materials can be naturally occurring such as uranium and radium found in the earth or manmade in an accelerator or reactor. Radiation-generating machines, such as medical X-ray machines, produce ionizing radiation electronically and stop producing radiation when turned off. Equipment that contains radioactive material, such as some industrial radiography equipment, cannot be turned off because the radioactive source emits ionizing radiation.

These sources must be shielded i. Five types of ionizing radiation—alpha particles, beta particles, positrons, gamma rays, and X-rays—are the primary focus of this Ionizing Radiation Safety and Health Topics page.

This page also introduces another type of ionizing radiation, neutron particles, although significant worker doses from neutrons are most likely near reactors or when using neutron sources e. Worker doses from neutrons could also occur in certain radiological emergencies. Positively charged particles consisting of two protons and two neutrons emitted from the nucleus of some radioactive atoms. An alpha particle is the nucleus of a helium atom.

For example, a Po atom has 84 protons and neutrons, and is unstable i. To become more stable, the Po atom ejects an alpha particle, consisting of two protons and two neutrons.

Having lost two protons and two neutrons, the radioactive Po atom becomes stable lead Pb , with 82 protons and neutrons. Negatively-charged, fast-moving electrons emitted from the nucleus of various radionuclides. Unstable atoms with a high neutron-to-proton ratio emit negatively-charged beta particles. Positively-charged, fast-moving electrons emitted from the nucleus of certain radionuclides. Unstable atoms with a low neutron-to-proton ratio can emit positrons.

For example, a carbon atom has six protons and eight neutrons, and is unstable i. To become more stable, the C atom releases radiation by turning a neutron into a proton and ejecting an electron i. Having gained a proton and lost a neutron, the radioactive C atom becomes stable nitrogen N , with seven protons and 7 neutrons.

Fluorine F is an example of a positron-emitting radionuclide that is commonly used in medical facilities for positron emission tomography PET scanning. An F atom has nine protons and nine neutrons, and is unstable i. To become more stable, the F atom releases radiation by turning a proton into a neutron and ejecting a positron. Having gained a neutron and lost a proton, the radioactive F atom becomes stable oxygen O , with eight protons and 10 neutrons.

Neutral i. Neutrons are high-speed nuclear particles that are the only type of ionizing radiation that can make objects radioactive. Nuclear fission and fusion reactions, as well as neutron sources e. For example, neutrons would be produced from the detonation of a fissile nuclear weapon, such as an improvised nuclear device IND. High-energy electromagnetic photons emitted from the nucleus of an unstable, excited atom. Radiation is not a series of distinct events, like radioactive decays, which can be counted individually.

Measuring radiation in bulk is like measuring the movement of sand in an hourglass; it is more useful to think of it as a continuous flow, rather than a series of separate events. The intensity of a beam of ionizing radiation is measured by counting up how many ions how much electrical charge it creates in air. The roentgen named after Wilhelm Roentgen, the discoverer of x rays is the unit that measures the ability of x rays to ionize air; it is a unit of exposure that can be measured directly.

Shortly after World War II, a common unit of measurement was the roentgen equivalent physical rep , which denoted an ability of other forms of radiation to create as many ions in air as a roentgen of x rays.

It is no longer used, but appears in many of the documents examined by the Advisory Committee. What are the basic types of ionizing radiation? Neutrons , when expelled from atomic nuclei and traveling as a form of radiation, can also be a significant health concern. Alpha particles are clusters of two neutrons and two protons each. They are identical to the nuclei of atoms of helium, the second lightest and second most common element in the universe, after hydrogen.

Compared with other forms of radiation, though, these are very heavy particles--about 7, times the mass of an electron. As they travel along, these large and heavy particles frequently interact with the electrons of atoms, rapidly losing their energy. They cannot even penetrate a piece of paper or the layer of dead cells at the surface of our skin.

But if released within the body from a radioactive atom inside or near a cell, alpha particles can do great damage as they ionize atoms, disrupting living cells. Radium and plutonium are two examples of alpha emitters. Beta particles are electrons traveling at very high energies.