Units of exposure and biological effects

Learning about radiation is extremely interesting as it is an unseen force that can reap havoc on your body without you knowing. There are different types of radiation such as gamma radiation, alpha radiation, and beta radiation. These types of radiation are measured by different devices on different scales much like the metric system of measuring.  One method of measuring radiation is (rad), or roentgen absorbed dose. This scale measured the dose of decaying material that is being ionized. Another method of measuring radiation is the (rem), or roentgen equivalent man. This covers the amount of radiation that hits the body and its effect of the human race. You will most likely see rem expressed as millirem or (mrem). This is used mainly to see and compare the different types of radiation against each other and distinguish the different effect compared to the numbers collected. With these tools you will find that there is always radiation readings. This is known as background radiation. Background radiation occurs from many places one being space. There is constant radiation beaming down from the sun and other places in the cosmos. There is also regular radiation coming from small deposits of radioactive elements like uranium. Also oddly enough it’s also in the food we eat. Food such as bananas has potassium, which is radioactive. People who are exposed to greater amounts of ionizing radiation can be plagued with mutations in their genes causing abnormal growths and pain associated with these growths. However, this does not happen from normal expected exposure. This occurs from radiations from catastrophes like atomic bombs and radioactive melt down like the one a Chernobyl. These mutations occur at the cellular level in people and animals both. It affects the blood and sex cells in humans making having babies complicated as it can potentially cause the babies born to have defects and mutations like their mother or father.