Radiation

Learn about radiation as a topic within physics: its sources, how it behaves, and how it affects people and objects. We are surrounded by a huge variety of types of radiation all day, every day, so it's good to understand how it can benefit you, and how it might harm you.

What is Radiation?

Radiation sciences is the study of the behavior of particles and waves of energy that have the ability to travel through matter and/or space. The field encompasses a wide variety of topics, including nuclear physics, atomic physics, optics, lasers, plasma physics, and astrophysics.

Radiation sciences is a rapidly evolving field, with new discoveries being made all the time. For example, physicists have only recently been able to detect and quantify the 'haze' of gamma rays that fills our galaxy; this discovery has allowed us to better understand the structure and evolution of our Universe.

As our understanding of radiation increases, so too does our ability to harness its power. For example, radiation can be used for cancer treatment, security scanning, and even generating electricity.

Radiation sciences is an exciting and ever-changing field of study, with something new to discover around every corner.

Radiation Resources

Radiation

Radiation

There seems to be confusion about what radiation is and where it comes from. Many people believe it is the radiation that comes directly from nuclear power plants that poses a threat to public safety. In fact it is the radioactive atoms, which can es...