NRSC 221 Lecture Notes - Isotopes Of Iron, Thyroid, Acute Radiation Syndrome
9 Feb 2013
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Slide 2 ionizing radiation exposure to the public. Natural radiation sources consists of 82% of total measurable radiation. Medical x-rays, nuclear medicine can treat some illnesses and some other types of radiation. What is surprising is that radon (gas in indoor air) makes up 55% of total radiation. We have two big groups of radiation: ionized radiation (cosmic, gamma, x-rays): this is radiation that has so much energy that can change atoms on some other chemicals. They can push electrons out of their atoms and produce ionized form of that element. All scientists agree that this radiation is really harmful. First, the radioactive material (like uranium), decays naturally and spontaneously, and produces ionizing radiation. This ion radiation, strips away electrons from atoms (create two charged ions) This is important for human body as it consists of water and chemicals. Examples: alpha, beta particles, gamma and x- rays. These examples differ based on the amounts of energy they have.
