ABSTRACT
In the electromagnetic spectrum, energy exists as waves, and the intensity of the energy increases as the waves get shorter. On either side of visible rays (~400–800 nm) are invisible long waves (>800 nm; IR and radio waves for radio, TV, microwave, and radar) and invisible short waves (<300 nm; UV rays, X-rays, β-rays, γ-rays, and cosmic rays). Exposure to long waves, visible light waves, and UV rays does not cause any change in the atomic structures. In contrast, exposure to X-rays, β-rays, and γ-rays can remove electrons from the outer shell of an atom and thus form an ion pair (negatively charged and positively charged). Ion formation or ionization does not make an atom radioactive. To induce radioactivity, the nucleus of an atom has to be disrupted by much higher energies, such as by neutrons; X-rays, β-rays, and γ-rays do not have that much energy.
