PHYSICS REVISION

IONISING RADIATION
DEFINITIONS

Radiation energy spreading out of a source in all directions

Ionising radiation that has sufficient energy to ionise an atom
Radioactive a substance that gives out nuclear radiation, they cannot be
switched off
Radioactive decay the disintegration of the nucleus of a radioactive
substance
Half-life the time for half the atoms of a radioactive substance to decay
or the time for the activity of a radioactive sample to half
When radiation hits something it is either reflected or absorbed but even
materials which are irradiated do not become radioactive.

IONISING RADIATION

The short-wavelength, high frequency area of the electromagnetic

spectrum contains ionising radiation ultra-violet, x-ray and gamma ray.
Ionising radiation comes in three forms: alpha (2 neutrons and 2 protons,
strong ionising, +2 relative charge, high relative mass, x0.1 SofL), beta
(electrons, weak ionising, -1 relative charge, low relative mass, x0.9 SofL)
and gamma (rays/ photons, very weak ionising, no charge, no mass, SofL).
These are given off by radioactive substances with unstable nuclei that
do not have an ideal amount of protons and neutrons.

MEASURING RADIATION
The three types of radiation have different penetrative properties. This
also means they have different levels of harm alpha being the least
harmful and gamma being the most.

When measuring the amount, however, an allowance must be made for

background radiation. This is a random number because radioactive decay
is a random process. By making more than one measurement for
background radiation an average can be obtained. As an alternative,
measurements over a long period of time also achieve a more accurate
result.

SOURCES

There are many natural sources of radiation:

Cosmic rays sea level UK 0.230mSv, +0.010mSv every 100m
above sea level, +0.004 mSv each hour air travel
Food and drink 0.300mSv
Rocks and buildings varies in UK 0.30-0.40msV
Radon gas mostly 0.7-1.0mSv in UK, 3.0mSv counties near
Cornwall, 8.0mSv in Cornwall
When thinking of sources of radiation, however, many people think of the
artificial sources:
Nuclear industry average dose 0.002mSv, fallout 0.005mSv,
+0.001mSv within 10km fuel preparation plant, +0.010mSv within
10km nuclear power station, +0.50mSv within 10km Sellafield,
Cornwall
Medical uses medical treatments e.g. x-rays (dental 0.200mSv,
chest 0.050mSv, pelvic 0.300mSv), barium meal 3.8mSv,
radiotherapy 40000mSv

WASTE & STORAGE

Waste materials from nuclear power stations and nuclear medicine are
radioactive and some of them will remain radioactive for thousands of
years and thus there are problems with storing waste. There are three
types of waster stored in different ways:
Low level gloves, clothes etc. squashed and buried
Intermediate level equipment in contact with fuel vitrification
(storing the material in glass)
High level spent fuel rods stored in concrete