Background radiation

• Describe what is meant by background radiation

  When always being exposed to ionising radiation
• What are the main sources of natural background radiation?

  Cosmic rays- Cosmic waves are high energy particles that travel though space and crash into the earths atmosphere. Radioactive rocks- certain rocks or radioactive including granite.
• What are the main sources of man made radioactivity?

  Nuclear power plants, nuclear weapons testing, and medical procedures.
• What is a radon gas and who is it produced?

  Radioactive gas; produced by the decay of uranium in soil and rocks.
• How does uranium rock decay?


  Decays by emitting an alpha particle
• How do you measure and detect background radiation?


  Geiger-Muller counter. Photographic film
• How is photographic film used to measure radioactivity?


  Photographic film turns black when it absorbs radiation. More radiation exposed to the darker the film. workers know when they have been exposed to too much radiation
• How does Geiger-muller tubes used to measure radiation?

  When absorbs radiation produces a pulse, which the machine uses to count the amount of radiation. Frequency of pulse depends how much much radiation is present. high frequency would mean the tube is absorbing a lot of radiation