Types and Production
Particles can be electrically charged or uncharged:
Particle radiation can be emitted by an unstable atomic nucleus (radioactive decay) in the form of a positively charged alpha particle (α), a positively or negatively charged beta particle (β) (the latter being more common), a photon (called a gamma particle, γ), or a neutron. Neutrinos are produced in beta decay in addition to beta particles; they interact with matter only very weakly. Photons, neutrons, and neutrinos are uncharged particles. The decay events of proton emission and cluster decay also emit (groups of) nucleons as charged particles, but are comparatively rare.
Other forms of particle radiation, including mesons and muons, occur naturally when (cosmic rays) impact the atmosphere. Mesons are found at high altitudes, but muons can be measured even at sea level.
Charged particles (electrons, mesons, protons, alpha particles, heavier atomic ions, etc.) can be produced by particle accelerators. Ion irradiation is widely used in the semiconductor industry to introduce dopants into materials, a method known as ion implantation.
Particle accelerators can also produce neutrino beams. Neutron beams are mostly produced by nuclear reactors. For the production of electromagnetic radiation, there are many methods, depending upon the wave length (see electromagnetic spectrum).
Read more about this topic: Particle Radiation
Famous quotes containing the words types and/or production:
“As for types like my own, obscurely motivated by the conviction that our existence was worthless if we didn’t make a turning point of it, we were assigned to the humanities, to poetry, philosophy, painting—the nursery games of humankind, which had to be left behind when the age of science began. The humanities would be called upon to choose a wallpaper for the crypt, as the end drew near.”
—Saul Bellow (b. 1915)
“Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul.”
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)