ELECTROMAGNETIC  RADIATION

 

 

The following are all the same form of energy - they only differ in the amount of energy in the energy packets (photons) that they contain.

• Radiowaves
• Microwaves
• Infrared
• Visible Light
• Ultraviolet
• X-Rays and Gamma Rays

In this lecture we will deal primarily with x-rays.

 

X-Rays:  from x-ray machines

 

Gamma-Rays:  from radioactive materials

 

X-Rays & Gamma-Rays are ionizing radiation that can damage tissue and can also penetrate into the body.

 

Ultraviolet radiation is slightly ionizing and can also damage tissue - sunburn and skin cancer - but it does not penetrate into the body.