Research paper on radiation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

On radiation - Research Paper Example Unstable atoms produce the ionizing radiation. Unstable atoms are the atoms with either excess mass or excess energy or both unlike the stable atoms. The unstable nuclei of the atoms provide them with the radioactive properties. These atoms release excess mass or energy in an attempt to gain stability. It is this excess mass or energy that is called as radiation. High voltage devices like the x-ray machines are used to produce radiation. Measurement of radiation is complicated and involves use of different kinds of units. The amount of the emitted radiation is conventionally measured in the curie (Ci). The SI unit for the measurement of radiation is the Becquerel (Bq). â€Å"These units express the number of disintegrations (or breakdowns in the nucleus of an element) per second as the element tries to reach a stable or nonradioactive state. One Bq is equal to one disintegration per second and one Ci is equal to 37 billion Bq† (Crosta). To measure the amount of radiation absorbed by the tissues in the human body, the SI unit gray (Gy) or the conventional unit Roentgen absorbed dose (rad) is used. Radiation finds multiple uses in the field of medicine. Ways in which radiation is employed in the medical imaging include but are not limited to projectional radiography, fluoroscopy, computed tomography, ultrasound, bone densitometry, medical resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Depending upon the way radiation is generated for the clinical purposes, radiation therapies can be classified into grenz-ray therapy, contact therapy, superficial therapy, deep therapy or orthovoltage therapy, supervoltage therapy, and megavoltage therapy (Khan 35-37). â€Å"Medical uses of radiation, particularly diagnostic X rays, result in the largest average annual effective dose from man-made sources† (Turner 12). Ionizing radiation is used in radiotherapy for the treatment of