Radition harm.

[kiran]

Can someone tell me how harmful is the exposure to the gamma rays, X rays?

[victor]

Gamma rays have the highest penetration effect and it can cause a missense mutation or nonsense mutation to the chromosomes. so, because of these two mutations on the nitrogenous bases inside our DNA, it can cause autosome or gonosome mutation.

[MrMistery]

In short, they both cause genetic mutations...
If i am not mistaken x-rays can also cause cancer, right?

[James]

Yes, x-rays can

[Poison]

yes they can.

[Natldnel]

But of course, it's only excessive exposure to them... Normal X-ray scans doctors make you go for are fine.

Gamma Rays have high penetration level but low ionising abilities.

Alpha particles have low penetration but very high ionising abilities...

Beta, in the middle...

So which is more dangerous? It all depends really... But low ionising or not, all of them will cause harm to your body and are capable of causing mutation and making them carcinogenic...

[James]

I always thought gamma rays were the most dangerous, but if gamma rays have high penetration and low ionising levels, don't they just pass through us without doing damage?

[victor]

@Natldnel
Maybe that's because they have a 82-Pb which is proven can minimize the free radiation effect to nearly zero. But as long as I know that x-rays is only used for inner membrane detector right..?
Actually the high ionizing one is more dangerous..Marie Curie died because of Leukemia whic is caused by Polonium that she had found...ironic...

@James
Just think like this..Gamma rays have the strongest penetration level..in that case G.rays can travel much more faster in the inner membrane. If this happen in the certain period of time and we compare it with alpha radiation, it must be Gamma which have the biggest quantity particles that have travelled the membrane...it depends on how long did the radiation occur..

[Mahlon]

A great book that is easy to read and explains the effects of radiation is "Genetics in the Atomic Age" by Charlotte Auerbach. Less than 200 pages and she keeps it so that the non scientists can understand it.

G'luck,
Dan