Types of Radiation

Radiation is energy that travels through waves. High levels of radiation have the "power to damage living cells."They cause damage to your internal organs over time and can even lead to cancer in the future. The three main types of radiation that affect us today are alpha, beta, and gamma. 

Alpha radiation is actually an ejected helium nucleus. It is short ranged, so it does not penetrate through matter. This means that it also cannot penetrate through our skin, so it is not considered a threat to humans. However, digesting alpha radiation, most commonly through radon gas, can be very harmful. Even though it can't lead to radiation sickness, it usually leads to lung cancer.

Beta radiation, on the other hand, in an ejected electron. It can travel a few feet and can also be penetrating sometimes. This type of radiation also only causes the most harm when digested. Beta radiation is used a lot in medicine. One instance is radioisotopes. These are used to irradiate certain areas inside a patient and prevent the growth of specific tissues.

Finally, gamma radiation is created by radioactive atoms and nuclear explosions, which means that this is the worst. These tend to be the most penetrating of them all and they can even travel through many inches of human tissue. Gamma rays can kill living cells, so they are very helpful when it comes to killing cancer cells. This is called radiotherapy.

Radiation surrounds us everywhere. Even though it is very harmful, we make the most out of it to treat illness and even produce energy for electric power.