Radiation 1.5 Flashcards
Electromagnetic radiation
Waves that can travel through space. em waves travel through Electromagnetic fields instead of matter
Radiation
Energy that travels in all directions.
Electromagnetic waves are organized based on wave length.
Long wave radiation
Em Radiation that has a wave length over when micrometre
Long way radiation has high wavelength, low frequency and low energy
Radio waves
Has the greatest wave length and lowest energy
Naturally produced by lightning,
Radio astronomy is a study of radio waves given off by objects in space such as planets, stars and galaxies
Radio waves are artificially made by humans for radio communication, radar and TV broadcasting
Microwaves
In meteorology satellites measure the amount of microwaves at any point in the earths surface to determine the temperature.
Warm objects produce microwaves
The cosmic microwave background is a light left over from the big bang oldest light in the universe
Infrared radiation
Most energy that reaches earth from the sun is infrared
infrared is a primary source of all thermal energy infrared is produced by All-Stars due to nuclear fusion
Short wave radiation
Has a wave length below 1 µm
short wave radiation has a higher frequency and energy but lower wavelength than long way radiation
Gamma rays
Highest energy
Incredibly dangerous because the wave length is small enough to Pierce atoms
Produced when nucleus of an atom splits or fuses to another nucleus
usually only occurs in stars however nuclear weapons and power plants are capable of producing gamma rays
X-rays
Still dangerous, wave length is too long to pierce nuclei but short enough to penetrate through most objects
the ability of x-rays to travel through solid objects makes them ideal for medical imaging and security screening
x-rays are produced to areas of high energy such as quasars and black holes
Ultraviolet light
Ultraviolet light is produced by massive stars
small enough wave lengths to enter skin cells but too long to pass through first few cell layers UV provides enough energy to make several important nutrients such as vitamin D
too much UV can increase the chance of DNA mutation which can result in cancer
Visible light
Wave length is between 400 and 700 nm
visible light is found in the middle of the electromagnetic spectrum
visible light is produced by hot objects particularly stars
Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation
Most dangerous forms of radiation are ionizing, they carry enough energy to separate electrons from nucleus ionizing radiation forms are x-rays and gamma rays and some forms of UV
Ionizing radiation causes burns, radiation sickness and cancer
Order of radiation from smallest wave length to greatest wave length
Gamma ray, x-ray, ultraviolet, visible light, infrared, microwave, radio
