Ionizing Radiation facts

While investigating facts about Ionizing Radiation Examples and Ionizing Radiation Definition, I found out little known, but curios details like:

U.S. flight attendants have higher rates of breast cancer, uterine cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, thyroid cancer, and cervical cancer, when compared with the general public, likely due to regular exposure to cosmic ionizing radiation

how ionizing radiation causes cancer?

In the 1940s and 1950s, hundreds of thousands of members of the US armed forces were exposed to ionizing radiation from nuclear testing during active duty. These "atomic veterans" were sworn to secrecy, and many received no treatment or compensation for the illnesses they later developed.

What is non ionizing radiation?

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what is ionizing radiation and why is it dangerous. Here are 24 of the best facts about Ionizing Radiation Sources and Ionizing Radiation Effects I managed to collect.

what's ionizing radiation?

1. Due to naturally-occurring potassium isotopes in a banana, using it as a "banana-phone" delivers a higher, albeit tiny dose of ionizing (DNA-damaging) radiation into your head compared an actual cellphone, which only emits non-ionizing radiation.

2. Bananas naturally produce a small amount of ionizing radiation, equaling 0.1 microsieverts. Large shipments of bananas are capable of setting off nuclear weapons radiation monitors at shipping ports.

3. The surface of a magnetar over 50,000 light years away cracked and sent so much radiation out that in 2004 it saturated and shut down satellites designed to detect and measure radiation...and ionized the earth's atmosphere.

4. Most of the radiation people are exposed to daily is not harmful because it is non-ionizing.

5. Cigarette smokers are exposed to more ionizing radiation per year than the maximum allowed for radiation workers in the US

6. Banana for scale" is actually used in ionizing radiation exposure scaling, as eating one banana is known as a "Banana Equivalent Dose (BED)", which represents 0.1 µSv of radiation exposure.

7. Smokers receive the MOST ionizing radiation out of any other person in any given profession per year globally (160,000 microsieverts).

8. Although microwaves emit radiation (as Dr. Spencer discovered when his chocolate bar melted in his pocket), it is not dangerous or cancer-causing because the microwaves are non-ionizing. You won"t get cancer from your microwave, unlike the potential from x-rays.

9. A high altitude nuclear explosion would cause and EMP. The ionized electrons interaction with the Earth’s magnetic field releases “Cyclotron Radiation.”

10. MRI was originally called NMRI (nuclear magnetic resonance imaging), but "nuclear" was dropped to avoid negative associations since there's actually no ionizing radiation involved.

Why ionizing radiation causes cancer?

You can easily fact check why ionizing radiation dangerous to humans by examining the linked well-known sources.

Between 1920 and 1970 people shopping in department stores casually had their feet blasted with ionizing x-ray radiation to ensure a better shoe fit.

Epigenetic processes may form a key factor in sensitivity of humans to ionizing radiation - source

Because a Tardigrade can survive extreme conditions including outer space and ionizing radiation, it might be an indicator of Panspermia since there are no such extreme drivers of natural selection on earth. - source

You eat 20,000,000 bananas, you might die from Ionizing radiation exposure

When does radiation become ionizing?

The people who exposed most ionizing radiation is not an astronaut, but a smokers' lungs

How ionizing radiation works?

A smoker receives the highest doses of ionizing radiation.

Low doses of ionizing radiation can be beneficial rather than detrimental to us, stimulating the activation of cellular repair mechanisms that protect against disease - a phenomenon known as Radiation Hormesis.

The banana equivalent dose, a measurement of ionizing radiation on the human body equivalent to consuming one banana, which is literally using a banana for scale

Ionizing radiation is used to preserve food and that 500 000 metric tons of foodstuffs is radiated every year.

There is a scientific theory called Radiation Homeostasis, which hypothesizes that low doses of ionizing radiation is beneficial to health by stimulating the activation of repair mechanisms that protect against disease