Polarization (also polarisation) is a property of certain types of waves that describes the

orientation of their oscillations. Electromagnetic waves, such as light, and gravitational waves exhibit polarization; acoustic waves (sound waves) in a fluid such as a gas or liquid do not have polarization because the direction of vibration and direction of propagation are the same. By convention, the polarization of light is described by specifying the orientation of the wave's electric field at a point in space over one period of the oscillation. When light travels in free space, in most cases it propagates as a transverse wavethe polarization is perpendicular to the wave's direction of travel. In this case, the electric field may be oriented in a single direction (linear polarization), or it may rotate as the wave travels (circular or elliptical polarization). In the latter cases, the oscillations can rotate either towards the right or towards the left in the direction of travel. Depending on which rotation is present in a given wave it is called the wave's chirality or handedness. In general the polarization of an electromagnetic (EM) wave is a complex issue. For instance in a waveguide such as an optical fiber, or for radially polarized beams in free space,[1] the description of the wave's polarization is more complicated, as the fields can have longitudinal as well as transverse components. Such EM waves are either TM or hybrid modes. For longitudinal waves such as sound waves in fluids, the direction of oscillation is by definition along the direction of travel, so there is no polarization. In a solid medium, however, sound waves can be transverse. In this case, the polarization is associated with the direction of the shear stress in the plane perpendicular to the propagation direction. This is important in seismology. Polarization is significant in areas of science and technology dealing with wave propagation, such as optics, seismology, telecommunications and radar science. The polarization of light can be measured with a polarimeter. A polarizer is a device that affects polarization. or ensembles of particles.

Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. Two types of radiation are commonly differentiated in the way they interact with normal chemical matter: ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. The word radiation is often colloquially used in reference to ionizing radiation (i.e., radiation having sufficient energy to ionize an atom), but the term radiation may correctly also refer to non-ionizing radiation (e.g., radio waves, heat or visible light). The particles or waves radiate (i.e., travel outward in all directions) from a source. This aspect leads to a system of measurements and physical units that are applicable to all types of radiation. Because radiation radiates through space and its energy is conserved in vacuum, the power of all types of radiation follows an inverse-square law of power with regard to distance from its source.

Both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation can be harmful to organisms and can result in changes to the natural environment. In general, however, ionizing radiation is far more harmful to living organisms per unit of energy deposited than non-ionizing radiation, since the ions that are produced by ionizing radiation, even at low radiation powers, have the potential to cause DNA damage. By contrast, most non-ionizing radiation is harmful to organisms only in proportion to the thermal energy deposited, and is conventionally considered harmless at low powers which do not produce significant temperature rise. Ultraviolet radiation in some aspects occupies a middle ground, in having some features of both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. Although nearly all of the ultraviolet spectrum of radiation is non-ionizing, at the same time ultraviolet radiation does far more damage to many molecules in biological systems than is accounted for by heating effects (an example is sunburn). These properties derive from ultraviolet's power to alter chemical bonds, even without having quite enough energy to ionize atoms. The question of harm to biological systems due to low-power ionizing and non-ionization radiation is not settled. Controversy continues about possible non-heating effects of low-power non-ionizing radiation, such as non-heating microwave and radio wave exposure. Non-ionizing radiation is usually considered to have a safe lower limit, especially as thermal radiation is unavoidable and ubiquitous. By contrast, ionizing radiation is conventionally considered to have no completely safe lower limit, although at some energy levels, new exposures do not add appreciably to background radiation. The evidence that small amounts of some types of ionizing radiation might confer a net health benefit in some situations, is called radiation hormesis.

Ionizing radiation
Radiation with sufficiently high energy can ionize atoms. Most often, this occurs when an electron is stripped (or "knocked out") from an electron shell, which leaves the atom with a net positive charge. Because cells and more importantly the DNA can be damaged, this ionization can result in an increased chance of cancer. An individual cell is made of trillions of atoms. The probability of ionizing radiation causing cancer is dependent upon the absorbed dose of the radiation, as adjusted for the damaging tendency of the type of radiation (equivalent dose) and the sensitivity of the organism or tissue being irradiated (effective dose). Roughly speaking, photons and particles with energies above about 10 electron volts (eV) are ionizing. Alpha particles, beta particles, cosmic rays, gamma rays, and X-ray radiation all carry energy high enough to ionize atoms. In addition, free neutrons are also ionizing, since their interactions with matter are inevitably more energetic than this threshold. Ionizing radiation comes from radioactive materials, X-ray tubes, particle accelerators, and is present in the environment. It is invisible and not directly detectable by human senses, so instruments such as Geiger counters are usually required to detect its presence. In some cases, it may lead to secondary emission of visible light upon interaction with matter, as in Cherenkov radiation and radioluminescence. It has many practical uses in medicine, research, construction,

and other areas, but presents a health hazard if used improperly. Exposure to radiation causes damage to living tissue, resulting in skin burns, radiation sickness and death at high doses and cancer,[1] tumors and genetic damage at low doses. Electromagnetic radiation (sometimes abbreviated EMR) takes the form of self-propagating waves in a vacuum or in matter. EM radiation has an electric and magnetic field component which oscillate in phase perpendicular to each other and to the direction of energy propagation. Electromagnetic radiation is classified into types according to the frequency of the wave, these types include (in order of increasing frequency): radio waves, microwaves, terahertz radiation, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays. Of these, radio waves have the longest wavelengths and gamma rays have the shortest. A small window of frequencies, called visible spectrum or light, is sensed by the eye of various organisms. Ionizing electromagnetic radiation is that for which the photons making up the radiation have energies larger than about 10 electron volts. The ability of an electromagnetic wave (photons) to ionize an atom or molecule thus depends on its frequency, which determines the energy of a photon of the radiation. An energy of 10 eV is about 1.61018 joules, which is a typical binding energy of an outer electron to an atom or organic molecule.[2] This corresponds with a frequency of 2.41015 Hz, and a wavelength of 125 nm (this is in far ultraviolet).[3] Radiation on the short-wavelength end of the electromagnetic spectrum, and above 125 nm, is ionizing. This includes extreme ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays. Most of the ultraviolet spectrum (which begins above energies of 3.1 eV (400 nm) is nonionizing, but is still biologically hazardous due the ability of single photons of this energy to cause electronic excitation in biological molecules, and thus damage them by means of unwanted reactions. An example is formation of pyrimidine dimers in DNA. This property gives the ultraviolet spectrum some of the dangers of ionizing radiation in biological systems, without actual ionization occurring. In contrast visible light and longer-wavelength electromagnetic radiation, such as infrared, microwaves, and radio waves, consists of photons with too little energy to cause damaging molecular excitation, and thus this radiation is far less hazardous per unit of energy.

Alpha
Alpha particles are the same as a helium-4 nucleus (two protons and two neutrons) and travel at speeds in excess of 5% of the speed of light, but they interact with matter very heavily, and thus at their usual velocities only penetrate a few centimeters of air, or a few millimeters of low density material (such as the thin mica material which is specially placed in some Geiger counter tubes to allow alpha particles in). This means that alpha particles from ordinary alpha decay do not penetrate skin and cause no damage to tissues below. Some very high energy alpha particles compose about 10% of cosmic rays, and these are capable of penetrating the body and even thin

metal plates. However, they are of danger only to astronauts, since they are deflected by the Earth's magnetic field and then stopped by its atmosphere. Alpha radiation is dangerous when alpha-emitting radioisotopes are ingested (breathed or swallowed). This brings the radioisotope close enough to tissue for the alpha radiation to damage cells. Per unit of energy, alpha particles are at least 20 times more effective at cell-damage as gamma rays and X-rays. See relative biological effectiveness for a discussion of this. Examples of highly poisonous alpha-emitters are radium, radon, and polonium.

Beta
Beta-minus () radiation consists of an energetic electron. It is more ionizing than alpha radiation, but less than gamma. Beta radiation from radioactive decay can be stopped with a few centimeters of plastic or a few millimeters of metal. It occurs when a neutron decays into a proton in a nucleus, releasing the beta particle and an antineutrino. Beta radiation from linac accelerators is far more energetic and penetrating than natural beta radiation. It is sometimes used therapeutically in radiotherapy to treat superficial tumors. Beta-plus (+) radiation is the emission of positrons, which are antimatter electrons. When a positron slows down to speeds similar to those of electrons in the material, the positron will annihilate an electron, releasing two gamma photons in the process. Those two gamma photons will be traveling in (approximately) opposite directions.

Neutron
Main articles: Neutron radiation and Neutron temperature Neutrons are categorized according to their speed. Neutron radiation consists of free neutrons. These neutrons may be emitted during either spontaneous or induced nuclear fission, nuclear fusion processes, or from any other nuclear reactions. Neutrons are the only type of ionizing radiation that can make other objects, or material, radioactive. This process, called neutron activation, is the primary method used to produce radioactive sources for use in medical, academic, and industrial applications. Even comparatively low speed thermal neutrons, which do not carry enough kinetic energy individually to be ionizing, will cause neutron activation (in fact, they cause it more efficiently). Such neutrons are "indirectly ionizing." Neutrons do not ionize atoms in the same way that charged particles such as protons and electrons do (exciting an electron), because neutrons have no charge. However, both slow and fast neutrons react with the atomic nuclei of many elements upon collision with those nuclei, creating unstable isotopes and therefore inducing radioactivity in a previously non-radioactive material. This is neutron activation.

In addition, high-energy (high-speed) neutrons have the ability to directly ionize atoms. One mechanism by which high energy neutrons ionize atoms is to strike the nucleus of an atom and knock the atom out of a molecule, leaving one or more electrons behind as the chemical bond is broken. This leads to production of chemical free radicals. In addition, very high energy neutrons can cause ionizing radiation by "neutron spallation" or knockout, wherein neutrons cause emission of high-energy protons from atomic nuclei (especially hydrogen nuclei) on impact. The last process imparts most of the neutron's energy to the proton, much like one billiard ball striking another. The charged protons, and other products from such reactions are directly ionizing. High-energy neutrons are very penetrating and can travel great distances in air (hundreds or even thousands of meters) and moderate distances (several meters) in common solids. They typically require hydrogen rich shielding, such as concrete or water, to block them within distances of less than a meter. A common source of neutron radiation occurs inside a nuclear reactor, where meters-thick water layer is used as effective shielding.

X-ray
X-rays are electromagnetic waves with a wavelength smaller than about 10 nanometers. A smaller wavelength corresponds to a higher energy according to the equation E=hc/. ("E" is Energy; "h" is Planck's constant; "c" is the speed of light; "" is wavelength.) A "packet" of electromagnetic waves is called a photon. When an X-ray photon collides with an atom, the atom may absorb the energy of the photon and boost an electron to a higher orbital level or if the photon is very energetic, it may knock an electron from the atom altogether, causing the atom to ionize. Generally, a larger atom is more likely to absorb an X-ray photon, since larger atoms have greater energy differences between orbital electrons. Soft tissue in the human body is composed of smaller atoms than the calcium atoms that make up bone, hence there is a contrast in the absorption of X-rays. X-ray machines are specifically designed to take advantage of the absorption difference between bone and soft tissue, allowing physicians to examine structure in the human body.

Gamma
Gamma () radiation consists of photons with a frequency of greater than 1019 Hz.[1] Gamma radiation occurs to rid the decaying nucleus of excess energy after it has emitted either alpha or beta radiation. Both alpha and beta particles have an electric charge and mass, and thus are quite likely to interact with other atoms in their path. Gamma radiation is composed of photons, which have neither mass nor electric charge. Gamma radiation penetrates much further through matter than either alpha or beta radiation. Gamma rays, which are highly energetic photons, penetrate deeply and are difficult to stop. They can be stopped by a sufficiently thick layer of material, where stopping power of the material per

given area depends mostly (but not entirely) on its total mass, whether the material is of high or low density. However, as is the case with X-rays, materials with high atomic number such as lead or depleted uranium add a modest (typically 20% to 30%) amount of stopping power over an equal mass of less-dense and lower atomic weight materials (such as water or concrete). Radionuclides can undergo a number of different reactions. These are summarized in the following table. A nucleus with mass number A and atomic number Z is represented as (A, Z). The column "Daughter nucleus" indicates the difference between the new nucleus and the original nucleus. Thus, (A 1, Z) means that the mass number is one less than before, but the atomic number is the same as before.

Radioactive decay is the process by which an atomic nucleus of an unstable atom

loses energy by emitting ionizing particles (ionizing radiation). There are many different types of radioactive decay (see table below). A decay, or loss of energy, results when an atom with one type of nucleus, called the parent radionuclide, transforms to an atom with a nucleus in a different state, or to a different nucleus containing different numbers of protons and neutrons. Either of these products is named the daughter nuclide. In some decays the parent and daughter are different chemical elements, and thus the decay process results in nuclear transmutation (creation of an atom of a new element). The first decay processes to be discovered were alpha decay, beta decay, and gamma decay. Alpha decay occurs when the nucleus ejects an alpha particle (helium nucleus). This is the most common process of emitting nucleons, but in rarer types of decays, nuclei can eject protons, or specific nuclei of other elements (in the process called cluster decay). Beta decay occurs when the nucleus emits an electron or positron and a type of neutrino, in a process that changes a proton to a neutron or the other way around. The nucleus may capture an orbiting electron, converting a proton into an neutron (electron capture). All of these processes result in nuclear transmutation. By contrast, there exist radioactive decay processes that do not result in transmutation. The energy of an excited nucleus may be emitted as a gamma ray in gamma decay, or used to eject an orbital electron by interaction with the excited nucleus in a process called internal conversion. Radioisotopes occasionally emit neutrons, and this results in a change in an element from one isotope to another. One type of radioactive decay results in products which are not defined, but appear in a range of "pieces" of the original nucleus. This decay is called spontaneous fission. This decay happens when a large unstable nucleus spontaneously splits into two (and occasionally three) smaller daughter nuclei, and usually emits gamma rays, neutrons, or other particles as a consequence. Radioactive decay is a stochastic (i.e., random) process at the level of single atoms, in that, according to quantum theory, it is impossible to predict when a particular atom will decay.[1]

However, the chance that a given atom will decay is constant over time. For a large number of atoms, the decay rate for the collection is computable from the measured decay constants of the nuclides (or equivalently from the half-lifes).