jjrakman Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Electromagnetic radiation that is ionizing and is able to bring about changes in atoms is called ionizing radiation. Correct? So my question then is, can any portion of the Electromagnetic Spectrum be ionizing? Can you for instance, have ionizing blue light? Or do certain portions of the electromagnetic Spectrum such as visible light only come in non-ionizing packages? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insane_alien Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 So my question then is, can any portion of the Electromagnetic Spectrum be ionizing? no, it has to have enough energy per photon to eject an electron from an orbital. Can you for instance, have ionizing blue light? only if you have a substance that requires very little energy to remove an electron. i don't know of any such substance Or do certain portions of the electromagnetic Spectrum such as visible light only come in non-ionizing packages? its everything from ultra violet down that isn't ionizing. able to bring about changes in atoms this isn't part of the definition of ionizing radiation. normal light can change atoms by making an electron change energy levels. infrared and microwave can cause them to vibrate differently radio can change the rotation of the nuclei. none of these are considered ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation consists of, alpha particles, beta particles, and high energy photons. it can also include heavier ions travelling fast as found in space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 its everything from ultra violet down that isn't ionizing. Specifically, anything longer than ~355 nm. That corresponds to the 3.51 eV ionization potential of Di-tungsten tetra (hpp), which is the lowest of any compound on record, according to wiki. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 If you start with a molecule or atom in an excited state then you can ionise it using relatively low energy photons. There is no theoretical lower limit to this so even radio frequencies could ionise something that was already sufficiently nearly ionised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insane_alien Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 true, but that requires conditions outside the norm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrakman Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 no, it has to have enough energy per photon to eject an electron from an orbital. Are all portions of the electromagnetic spectrum capable of having this kind of energy, including visible light? its everything from ultra violet down that isn't ionizing. So are you saying that Ultra Violet, X-Rays and Gamma Rays are not ionizing? Ultra Violet light can be ionizing? So does anyone have a definition of ionizing radiation? A molecule can be ionized. Does the ionization coming off that molecule constitute the radiation then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insane_alien Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Are all portions of the electromagnetic spectrum capable of having this kind of energy, including visible light? no. energy is quantized. higher frequency higher energy. So are you saying that Ultra Violet, X-Rays and Gamma Rays are not ionizing? Ultra Violet light can be ionizing? i said the opposite. i was talking in terms of energy and frequency. you perhaps thought i mean wavelength. So does anyone have a definition of ionizing radiation? ratiation that is capable of ionizing an atom or molecule. A molecule can be ionized. Does the ionization coming off that molecule constitute the radiation then? mrh? that doesn't make sense. please rephrase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrakman Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 O.k. Let me see if I understand this. Radiation emanates, and if that radiation is of sufficient energy it hits molecules and will ionize them. Any radiation capable of ionizing a molecule is ionizing radiation? i said the opposite. i was talking in terms of energy and frequency. you perhaps thought i mean wavelength. So then what you mean is that everything from UV through Long Wave radio is capable of ionizing? Does that mean visible light is capable of ionization? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insane_alien Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 So then what you mean is that everything from UV through Long Wave radio is capable of ionizing? Does that mean visible light is capable of ionization? how did you get this wrong again? UV, X-Ray, Gamma = ionizing everything else on the spectrum = nonionizing energy increases as wavelength decreases and frequency increases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imp Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 how did you get this wrong again? UV, X-Ray, Gamma = ionizing everything else on the spectrum = nonionizing energy increases as wavelength decreases and frequency increases. In EM radiation, the shorter the wavelength, the more "penetrating" the radiation is, as though it may "enter" interstitial spaces more readily. At the same time, the actual INTENSITY of a given wavelength may be high or low, independent of the wavelength. imp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrakman Posted July 14, 2007 Author Share Posted July 14, 2007 how did you get this wrong again? UV, X-Ray, Gamma = ionizing everything else on the spectrum = nonionizing Sorry for the confusion. thanks. I understand that now. So would the following be true then? Radiation emanates, and if that radiation is of sufficient energy it hits molecules and will ionize them. Any radiation capable of ionizing a molecule is ionizing radiation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insane_alien Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 yeah thats it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrakman Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 Thanks much for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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