All energy is radiation, with two types: ionizing and non-ionizing. Ionizing radiation is more dangerous than non-ionizing radiation, but has medical benefits. Ionization removes electrons from atoms, causing molecular damage and cancer. Non-ionizing radiation can still excite atoms and cause burns. The sun produces both types, with radon gas contributing the largest proportion of ionizing radiation. Medical imaging and radiation therapy rely on man-made ionizing radiation.
All energy is radiation. There are two types, known as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and both are ubiquitous on Earth. The characteristics and differences between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation are important to understand given both the potential harm and utility of radiation to the human body. While both are potentially harmful, ionizing radiation is more dangerous than non-ionizing radiation, but ionizing radiation also has several medical benefits.
Ionization is the process by which electrons are removed from their orbit around a particular atom, causing that atom to become charged or ionized. This process can occur when radiation of sufficient strength interacts with normal atoms. Radiation that is not powerful enough to trigger this process is known as non-ionizing and is capable instead of simply exciting the movement of atoms and heating them. The division between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation occurs in the ultraviolet (UV) range, which is why this range is divided into UV-A and UV-B rays, the latter being more powerful and dangerous.
Examples of non-ionizing radiation include infrared, microwaves, and light along the visible spectrum. Just because it doesn’t remove electrons from atoms doesn’t mean that non-ionizing radiation is harmless. It is still able to excite atoms and in turn heat them. This is the theory behind microwave ovens, and human biological tissue is not fundamentally free from this effect. Exposure to non-ionizing types of radiation whose wavelengths are shorter than those of the body can lead to dangerous burns. This is why exposure to the sun’s rays causes the skin to cook and eventually burn.
Although it does not generate heat, ionizing radiation is even more dangerous than non-ionizing radiation to living tissue. By radically changing the chemical composition of an atom, this type of radiation can cause molecular damage and the uncontrolled cell growth known as cancer. When exposed to human reproductive organs, ionizing radiation can also lead to future birth defects in unborn babies.
The sun produces both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. Although the sun is responsible for much of the natural radiation to which a human being may be exposed, only a small fraction of that which reaches the surface of the Earth is ionizing. In fact, it is radon gas that is estimated to contribute the largest proportion of ionizing radiation absorbed by humans, followed by other radioactive elements such as plutonium and radium, which occur in rock formations and other geological features.
However, ionizing radiation has valuable properties and has proven vital in healthcare. Medical imaging, like X-rays, relies on man-made ionizing radiation. Radiation therapy is used to treat conditions, including cancer, by obliterating targeted areas of tissue. Unsurprisingly, the same dangers that occur from natural radiation are present with the manufactured kind, and the side effects of high doses of radiation treatment can be serious in and of themselves.
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