Ionising Radiation¶
Ionising Radiation is a form of radiation, which has enough energy to remove electrons from atoms - forming ions of them. There are three different types: Alpha, Beta, and Gamma.
Alpha¶
Alpha has the weakest penetrating ability of all types, and as such has a very small range of which it can ionise - being only a few centimetres. It fails to penetrate through human skin, or even a few sheets of paper - which in most regards is a good thing, as it cannot enter a body easily, but on the other hand - should an alpha source be inside a human body, it cannot get out either. It is simply made of 2 protons, and 2 neutrons (a helium nucleus).
Beta¶
Beta has slightly better of a penetrating ability than Alpha, being able to penetrate an area of up to a few metres. It is unable to penetrate through aluminium, but will handle penetrating human skin, or a few sheets of paper no problem. It is simply a fast moving electron.
Gamma¶
Gamma, unlike its partners is not a particle, but rather a wave, or high-energy electromagnetic wave to be exact. And again unlike its partners, it has a huge range of kilometres. To prevent it penetrating objects, thick lead (couple centimetres) or very thick concrete (few metres) is going to be required.
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