Abstract
Publisher Summary This chapter discusses various kinds of radiations that are emitted by radioactive substances and the net results that can come from utilizing it. Three different types of emanations from radium and other radioactive substances had been identified: (1) alpha rays are positively charged particles with relatively large mass; (2) beta rays are negatively charged particles with mass much less than that of alpha rays; and (3) gamma rays are neutral rays with no detectable mass. Alpha rays and beta rays or alpha particles and beta particles are studied by bending the particles in an electric field and by measuring the buildup of electrical charge on surface or wires that collect the radiation. These experiments show that beta particles are identical to electrons and alpha particles are the same as helium nuclei. Gamma rays are identical to X-rays and light, except that their frequencies are much higher. Almost all of the radiation that is capable of producing biological damage and to which the general public is exposed is in the form of X or gamma radiation. Persons working with radioactivity or with accelerators are sometimes exposed to alpha and beta particles or to other high-speed nuclear particles. All of these radiations produce ionization in matter and can therefore inflict damage on biological tissue.
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