NUCLEAR RADIATION
Radiation is really nothing more than the emission of energy waves through space, as well as through physical objects. Usually these energy waves are electromagnetic radiation which are classified into
-Radio waves
-Infrared waves
-Visible light
-Ultraviolet waves
-X-ray
-Gamma rays and
-Cosmic rays
In 1896 a French scientist, Henri Becquerel found that his photographic plates had become fogged, even though they had been protected from light. What this meant was that another source with properties of light, some rays, had penetrated the plates’ covering. He concluded that this effect came from compounds that he was working with containing uranium. Materials with such properties are called radioactive and include also thorium and potassium.
The actual radioactivity is a result of radioactive decay. You can find more information about what is nuclear energy what is nuclear energy or how does nuclear energy work on other pages, like How Does Nuclear Energy Work Exactly?.
The three types of radiation with varying abilities to penetrate objects or bodies are
-Alpha
-Beta, and
-Gamma radiation
You can shield yourself from alpha radiation by something as flimsy as a sheet of paper. Beta rays need six millimetres of aluminium and gamma rays are stopped by dense material only, like lead.