Dangers of Radiation (GCSE Physics)

Dangers of Radiation

Generating EM Waves

• Atoms can generate or absorb EM waves. When the nucleus of an atom changes, this can results in the generation or absorption of EM waves. This can occur over a wide frequency range.
• Gamma rays come from nuclear changes. One of the best examples of atoms generating electromagnetic radiation is in gamma rays. When changes occur in the nucleus of an atom, gamma rays can be emitted. This often occurs with radioactive decay.

Effects of different EM waves

• EM waves can be dangerous. Ultraviolet waves, X rays and gamma rays can be harmful to humans. These can cause hazardous effects, but the effects will depend on the dose and the type of radiation that is emitted.
• We can measure the radiation dose. When radiation is emitted, we can actually measure the dose that has been released. We can use a Geiger Muller tube to do this (we previously mentioned this type of equipment in our section on radioactivity). We will now explore the units of radiation and how exactly it is measured.

Measuring Radiation

• The unit of radiation is the sievert. Sieverts are the units of the radiation. The symbol for sievert is Sv. Like most other units, sieverts can come in different factors, such as millisieverts (mSv).
• Millisieverts make up sieverts. 1000 millisieverts make up one sievert. Since background radiation is at such a low level, you will commonly see the unit mSV rather than the unit Sv.

Risks and Consequences

• Radiation has risks and consequences. As previously mentioned, radiation can have some hazardous effects on human tissue. These effects come under the broader heading of ‘risks and consequences’. Essentially, these are the ‘bad things’ that may happen when someone is exposed to radiation.
• UV waves can skin ageing. UV waves can cause human skin to age earlier than expected. They are in between light and X rays in the electromagnetic spectrum and they can also cause skin cancer. UV waves can also be harmful to human eyes.
• X rays and gamma rays can cause cancer. Similar to UV rays, X rays and gamma rays can also have harmful effects on human skin. In fact, X rays and gamma rays will increase the risk of cells mutating and dividing uncontrollably, which can potentially lead to skin cancer.