Background radiation
Videos
Background radiation is a measure of the level of ionizing radiation present in the environment at a particular location which is not due to deliberate introduction of radiation sources.
Geiger counter displaying 0.17 μSv/h (1.5 mSv/a) under background radiation.
The weather station outside of the Atomic Testing Museum on a hot summer day. Displayed background gamma radiation level is 9.8 μR/h (0.82 mSv/a) This is very close to the world average background radiation of 0.87 mSv/a from cosmic and terrestrial sources.
Cloud chambers used by early researchers first detected cosmic rays and other background radiation. They can be used to visualize the background radiation
Displays showing ambient radiation fields of 0.120–0.130 μSv/h (1.05–1.14 mSv/a) in a nuclear power plant. This reading includes natural background from cosmic and terrestrial sources.
Ionizing radiation
Videos
Ionizing radiation, also spelled ionising radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have enough energy per individual photon or particle to ionize atoms or molecules by
Ionized air glows blue around a beam of particulate ionizing radiation from a cyclotron