Open main menu

Changes

Ionising Potential

3,260 bytes added, 10:00, 8 March 2019
no edit summary
===About Ionising Potential===
: '''Ionising potential''' is related to the risk to living [[organism]]s of [[Ionising Radiation|ionising radiation]]. The more highly [[ionise|ionising]] the more dangerous the [[Ionising Radiation|ionising radiation]] if it is [[Absorb (Physics)|absorbed]] by living [[tissue]].
 
: With a [[Electrical Charge|charge]] of +2, '''α-particles''' are the most [[Ionising Radiation|ionising]] of the three [[Ionising Radiation|ionising radiations]]. It is capable of removing two [[electron]]s from a single [[atom]] or [[molecule]] or removing 1 [[electron]] from two [[atom]]s or [[molecule]]s.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|[[File:AlphaIonise.png|center|600px]]
|-
| style="height:20px; width:600px; text-align:left;" |When an [[Alpha Particle|α-particle]] interacts with an [[atom]] the [[Alpha Particle|α-particle]] can remove one or two [[electron]]s to '''ionise''' the [[atom]].
|}
: With a [[Electrical Charge|charge]] of -1, '''β-particles''' are the second most [[Ionising Radiation|ionising]] of the three [[Ionising Radiation|ionising radiations]]. It is capable of knocking out more than one [[electron]] from different [[atom]]s or [[molecule]]s as it has a large amount of [[Kinetic Energy Store|kinetic energy]].
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|[[File:BetaIonise.png|center|600px]]
|-
| style="height:20px; width:600px; text-align:left;" |When a [[Beta Particle|beta particle]] interacts with an [[atom]] the [[Beta Particle|beta minus particle]] can pass on some of its [[Kinetic Energy Store|kinetic energy]] to an [[electron]] in the [[Outer Shell|outer shell]] causing the [[electron]] to escape '''ionising''' the [[atom]]. This may happen more than once if the [[Beta Particle|beta particle]] [[collide]]s with another [[atom]] with enough [[energy]].
|}
: With no [[Electrical Charge|electrical charge]], '''<math>\gamma</math>-rays''' are the least [[Ionising Radiation|ionising]] of the three [[Ionising Radiation|ionising radiations]]. It is capable of knocking out one [[electron]] from an [[atom]] or [[molecule]] by being [[Absorb (Physics)|absorbed]] by an [[electron]] in the [[Outer Shell|outer shell].
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|[[File:GammaIonise.png|center|600px]]
|-
| style="height:20px; width:600px; text-align:left;" |When a [[Gamma-ray|gamma-ray]] interacts with an [[atom]] the [[Gamma-ray|gammarray]] is [[Absorb (Physics)|absorbed]] by an [[electron]] in the [[Outer Shell|outer shell]] causing the [[electron]] to escape '''ionising''' the [[atom]].
|}
: With a [[Electrical Charge|charge]] of 0 and almost no effect on the [[electron]]s [[Electron Orbital|orbiting]] [[Atomic Nucleus|nuclei]], '''[[neutron]]s''' are not directly [[Ionising Radiation|ionising]].
{| class="wikitable"
| style="height:20px; width:600px; text-align:left;" |[[Neutron Radiation|Neutron radiation]] is referred to as indirectly [[Ionising Radiation|ionising]] because it does not affect the [[electron]]s [[Electron Orbital|orbiting]] an [[atom]] but it can cause the release of directly [[Ionising Radiation|ionising radiation]] in two ways:
|-
|[[File:NeutronIonise.png|center|600px]]
|-
| style="height:20px; width:600px; text-align:left;" |It can be [[Absorb (Physics)|absorbed]] by a [[Atomic Nucleus|nucleus]] making it [[Unstable Isotope|unstable]] and causing it to release a [[gamma-ray]].
|-
|[[File:NeutronPenetrationAir.png|center|600px]]
|-
| style="height:20px; width:600px; text-align:left;" |It can [[Radioactive Decay|decay]] into a [[proton]] and a [[Beta Particle|beta particle]] releasing a [[gamma-ray]].
|}