How does radiation affect living things as well as the environment?

Radiation can be harmful to living creatures. Radiation can harm living things directly by damaging their cells. The cells might stop functioning, or they might be unable to reproduce. Radiation can also cause cells to reproduce in an out-of-control fashion, causing cancer.

What is the possible effects to living things and environment of alpha radiation?

If alpha-emitters are inhaled, swallowed, or get into the body through a cut, the alpha particles can damage sensitive living tissue. The way these large, heavy particles cause damage makes them more dangerous than other types of radiation.

How does radiation affect existence?

Ionizing radiation from fallout can cause genetic effects, birth defects, cancer, cataracts, and other organ and tissue defects. By directly or indirectly ionizing, radiation can affect a cell’s ability to conduct repair and reproduction.

What are the sources of radiation into the environment?

The majority of background radiation occurs naturally from minerals and a small fraction comes from man-made elements. Naturally occurring radioactive minerals in the ground, soil, and water produce background radiation. The human body even contains some of these naturally-occurring radioactive minerals.

How does electromagnetic radiation affect matter?

The main effect radiation has on matter is its ability to ionize atoms to become ions, a phenomenon known as ionization, which is very similar to the photoelectric effect. Radioactive particles or electromagnetic waves with sufficient energy collide with electrons on the atom to knock electrons off the atom.

How is radiation used in everyday life?

Many uses of radiation help to ensure the high quality and safety of our daily lives. Smoke detectors to warn us of fire, x-ray machines to detect weapons or other devices in luggage and cargo, and certain types of imaging to look for diseases are all application of radiation for the benefit of society.

Is radiation a good thing or a bad thing?

Although it can be destructive, radioactivity can also be beneficial, especially when it comes to medical tests and certain medical treatments. Not only can radiation find tumors within the body, it can also destroy them or slow their growth.

Can radiation cause good mutations?

When they counted the cells that had taken up foreign DNA, they found that low doses of radiation, in the upper range of common diagnostic procedures, create mutations through inserted DNA even more efficiently than the much larger doses studied previously.

What is radiation in environmental science?

Environmental radiation exists in our environment from naturally occurring and manmade radiation sources. Often, environmental radiation is termed “background radiation.” On average, Iowans receive an annual radiation dose of 300 millirem from natural radiation sources and 60 millirem from manmade radiation sources.

What is electromagnetic radiation in chemistry?

Electromagnetic radiation consists of two perpendicular waves, one electric and one magnetic, propagating at the speed of light (c). Electromagnetic radiation is radiant energy that includes radio waves, microwaves, visible light, x-rays, and gamma rays, which differ in their frequencies and wavelengths.