What is radiation?
When talking about light or sound, someone might have used the phrase “sound-waves” or “light-waves,” but do you actually know what that means?
Waves move in an ‘up-and-down’ pattern called oscillation, and transfers energy without being made of matter. This means that the waves themselves are not made up of anything, they don’t have mass and they don’t have particles, but they still move with energy.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
We define radiation itself as the movement of energy through a medium (such as air), which aligns very closely with our definition of waves. So when we talk about different types of radiation, it is simply different ‘types’ of waves.
If the wave is moving more ‘quickly’ that means it has a greater frequency and shorter wavelength. Wavelength refers to the distance between the same point (crest) before beginning another cycle, and frequency is how often that cycle can occur in one second. The greater the frequency of the wave, and the shorter its wavelength, the more dangerous it becomes.
For example, gamma radiation is known to be extremely harmful because it has such a short wavelength, and is very high energy. So if a human or other living thing were exposed to gamma radiation, the waves could move so fast that it could pass through them and scrabble their DNA, causing serious mutations and other health issues.
Image Credit: NASA, Wikimedia Commons
If you are interested in learning more about radiation, check out the resources below:
