Radiation: energy transfer with or without a medium or material to travel through.
So I'm saying that pure energy can be "radiated" right through space, air, water, bodies, metal, basically anything. Radiation seems simple and powerful, but it's not really simple and still very powerful!
This is what radiation looks like:
It's actually a "spectrum" of energy. Radio waves are the least powerful, increase energy and gamma energy becomes the highest form of radiation. Gamma rays can travel intensely through many thick metals like lead and cause great harm to a person.
We are most familiar with the radiation that we feel from our ovens, fireplaces, heaters, and the sun. Our bodies even "radiate". Haven't you sat next to someone in a car, in the summer and without air conditioning? Yeah, being close to a person like that can get uncomfortable because our body temperatures are about 98 degrees!
Radiation is natural and can be found many places. All life has learned how to live with radiation.
Living at a high altitude means we are exposed to more radiation than people living at sea level. At high altitudes the atmosphere is thinner and we get less protection from radiation. When we fly in an airplane we are exposed to a lot of radiation, more radiation than when we visit the dentist and get our teeth x-rayed.
Buildings made out of granite emit lots of radiation because granite contains uranium.
Lights, building materials, many objects "radiate". A lot of people are afraid of radiation...but it keeps us alive and can cure us of disease and illnesses. We need the sun to help plants grow, keep animals alive, and larger animals eat the vegetarians. It's a wonderful cycle that is perfect for life.
Watch how radiation helps these sunflower seeds grow:
Just fascinating! The energy from the sun "radiates" across space, through our atmosphere, warms the ground and activates these seeds so they know it's time to grow, just because the soil is at the right temperature!
Wow! that plant thing is so cool.
ReplyDelete