4.2.6

Ionising vs Penetration

Test yourself

Ionising vs Penetration

More strongly ionising radiation is less able to penetrate materials. It interacts with (damages) materials much more, so it comes to a stop sooner.

Illustrative background for Alpha radiationIllustrative background for Alpha radiation ?? "content

Alpha radiation

  • Alpha radiation is like a bull running into a hedge.
  • It does lots of damage to the hedge but doesn’t get through very far.
Illustrative background for Beta radiationIllustrative background for Beta radiation ?? "content

Beta radiation

  • Beta radiation is somewhere between the other two (alpha & gamma), like a cat running through the hedge.
Illustrative background for Gamma radiationIllustrative background for Gamma radiation ?? "content

Gamma radiation

  • Gamma radiation is like a bird flying into the hedge.
  • It can dodge between the branches for a while, but will eventually get stuck.

Jump to other topics

1Energy

2Electricity

3Particle Model of Matter

4Atoms & Radiation

5Forces

5.1Basics of Motion

5.2Forces

5.3Effects of Forces

5.4Pressure

6Waves

7Magnetism

8Astrophysics

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