Nuclear Radiation Sources

Fallout from a nuclear tests consist of fission fragments and neutron activation products.

What is nuclear energy in science definition china nuclear sun. Nonetheless most people are not aware of all the natural and man made sources of radiation in our environment. The amount of radiation absorbed by a person is measured in dose. Sources and effects of ionizing radiation annex b.

However human activity has added to background radiation by creating and using artificial sources of radiation. Trace amounts of radiation stemming from the ongoing nuclear crisis in japan have been detected across the us and many americans are concerned about the risks. Nuclear radiation includes gamma rays x rays and the more energetic portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Cosmic radiationcosmic radiation refers to sources of radiation in the form of cosmic rays that come from the sun or from outer space. Natural and man made. The sources of radioactive pollution can be classified into two groups.

Following an atmospheric nuclear weapon discharge or a nuclear reactor containment breach the air soil people plants and animals in the vicinity will become contaminated by nuclear fuel and fission products. Ionizing subatomic particles released by nuclear reactions include alpha particles beta particles neutrons muons mesons positrons and cosmic rays. A dose is the amount of radiation energy absorbed by the body.

This image shows examples of medical sources of radiation including an x ray ct scan nuclear medicine and a particle accelerator that produce isotopes. At ground level the muons with energies mostly between 1 and 20 gev contribute about 75 of the absorbed dose rate in free airthe remainder comes from electrons produced by the muons or present in the electromagnetic cascade. Sources of radiation radiationenergy given off as either particles or rays.

This interaction between ionizing radiation and. Since the beginning of time all living creatures have been and are still being exposed to radiation. Radiation particularly associated with nuclear medicine and the use of nuclear energy along with x rays is ionizing radiation which means that the radiation has sufficient energy to interact with matter especially the human body and produce ions ie.

Some are natural and some are man made. These include radioactive waste from nuclear power stations radioactive fallout. When a blast takes place on the ground or in the atmosphere near the ground large amounts of activation products are formed also from surface materials.