User:Manjeetsinghrawat

Photons and ionisation''

Electromagnetic radiation comes in tiny ‘packets’ called photons. The photons deliver different quantities of energy, with radio photons delivering the smallest amount, and gamma photons delivering the greatest amount of energy. A higher frequency of electromagnetic radiation means more energy is transferred by each photon. If the photons have enough energy, they can break molecules into bits called ions. This is called ionisation. These types of radiation are called ionising radiation. This radiation can remove electrons from atoms in its path. In the electromagnetic spectrum only the three types of radiation, which have the photons with most energy, are ionising. These are ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays. Damaging to health - Higher tier The ions produced when ionising radiation breaks up molecules can take part in other chemical reactions. If these chemical reactions are in cells of your body, the cells can die or become cancerous. This is the reason that ionising radiation can be damaging to health.