To begin with, let us first answer the question on what is radiation? In the most basic sense, radiation is source of energy that is capable of going through any object and can be absorbed by said object. Many people would think that radiation is a piece of rock with a green glow that can cause certain effects to the human body and the environment. There is some truth to that but radiation is something more than what comic books tell us.
To help us further understand what is radiation, let us know the two kinds of radiation. The first one is identified as ionizing radiation and is what people think about when talking about radiation. Ionizing radiation is a form of radiation that has particles with their own energy that is capable of stripping an electron from an atom or molecule. The product of this stripping is called free radicals and is known by the scientific world as a reactive chemical that can cause plenty of biological damage.
On the other hand, non ionizing radiation is the reverse of ionizing radiation. It also has energy but not enough to take an electron away but excites that electron to a higher energy level. This excitation also produces some effects to the body. Some common examples are infrared, visible light, radio waves and microwaves.
Despite the possible health risks in the use of radiation, it is still an important source of energy because it still has many crucial applications. In the field of medicine, it has been used for diagnosing and treating diseases and also for medical research for new treatments and other applications. The x-ray and CT scan use radiation to capture images of the inside of the body while radiation therapy is used to treat many kinds of diseases like cancer.
Radiation has also found its way in communication. All forms of modern telecommunication systems and machines use electromagnetic radiation to broadcast information. It is the difference of intensity of the radiation that helps deliver that data into an understandable form like pictures and sounds. Another application is in the field of science. It is used in carbon dating in which scientist can determine the age of certain object. In science, radiation has a myriad of uses.
But the most famous use of radiation is nuclear radiation. This is where radiation is used to provide insurmountable energy and also destructive power. Nuclear energy has been used to power many countries all over the world and also sophisticated military equipment like the modern submarine.The world has also seen the destructive power of the nuclear energy when the atomic bomb plowed through Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Indeed, radiation is both helpful and harmful for humankind. It is just a matter of how to use it properly.
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