What is commonly referred to as "radiation" is actually a specific type of radiation - ionizing radiation. When an object produces ionizing radiation, it releases enough energy to interact with other matter, possibly releasing an electron from an atom. The electron is then free to interact with other atoms or just wander into the vacuum. But whatever the electron does, once it leaves the original atom, it is called "ionized". There are four types of ionizing radiation: alpha, beta, gamma and neutron radiation.

Alpha radiation

Back in 1896, no one really understood radiation, either as particles or as electromagnetic waves of some kind. Therefore, scientists decided to use the term "ray" to describe radiation, which is how alpha particles and gamma rays got their names.

But alpha rays are not waves, they are actually charged particles. An alpha particle consists of two protons and two neutrons. This means that alpha particles are helium atoms without electrons.

How do you make the determination that corporate radiation is alpha radiation and not through other different types of radiation? The method is that alpha particles can easily appear to be blocked by something as thin as paper. In other words, very with a small amount of material we can block it.

Another thing that can block alpha particles is human skin. As a result, alpha radiation is often considered the least harmful type of radiation.

Beta particles

Alpha particles are easy to stop. In contrast, Beytagh and γ particles can pass through a certain amount of metal shielding, penetrate further into the material, and have a much smaller mass.

A beta particle is actually an electron, i.e., a negatively charged elementary realization particle. An alpha particle has more than 7,000 times the mass of a beta particle. This means that very low mass beta particles can develop very high velocities between them to emit, penetrating objects with the ability to include our human tissue.

Gamma rays

Gamma rays are rays and not particles. They are the third type of radiation, an electromagnetic wave, just like visible light.

The wavelength of light that people can live with and see with their own eyes is between 400 and 700 nanometers technically, while gamma rays have a much smaller wavelength. A typical gamma ray may have a wavelength of 100 picometers.

Because of their small wavelength and high frequency, gamma rays can interact with matter at very high energy levels. They can also penetrate deeper into most materials, so large amounts of lead are usually needed to stop this radiation.

Neutron radiation

Neutron radiation differs from the above three in that radioactive nuclei emit neutrons. This is the fourth type of radiation.

Neutrons have no electrical charge and can easily pass through many substances, making it difficult to shield them. The key to protecting an object or person from neutron radiation is to somehow slow down the particles. It turns out that one can do this with hydrogen. When neutrons interact with molecules containing hydrogen, such as water or hydrocarbons, the collisions slow them down slightly. The more collisions there are,tds meter the slower the neutron moves. Eventually, it will become so slow that it won't cause any problems.

How can radiation be monitored?

There are various methods one can use to detect all these types of radiation. Most people are familiar with the Geiger counter, also known as the Geiger-Miller counter.

When an alpha, beta, or gamma ray passes through a gas in a tube, it ionizes atoms and creates a free developing electron. This electron is then attracted to a positive voltage in the center wire. As the electron moves toward the wire, it increases in speed and collides with other gas molecules in China,dosimeter vs geiger counter which can produce more free-trading electrons. People call this an "electron avalanche" because this is how a country's electronics can learn to produce electrons that provide more use.

Once the electrons reach the wire, the current they produce is amplified and sent to the audio input. This amplified avalanche of electrons causes the classic "click" sound of a Geiger counter.

Another method of detecting radiation is the scintillator. This is a special crystal or plastic material. When any of the four types of radiation pass through the scintillator,geiger counter radiation detector a small amount of visible light is produced. Only a photomultiplier device is needed to detect these tiny amounts of light to detect radiation.