Radiant Energy

&
Nuclear Energy

Group 4
Christine Marielle C. Apo
Anna Marie P. Bautista
Marianne N. Comeda
Crystal Gail T. De Ello
Rose Emilene A. Tena
BSA 2-6
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
 Radiant Energy
What is Radiant Energy?
 Energy
 refers to any that
formisoftransmitted in the energy
electromagnetic
form of “(electromagnetic)RADIATION”
 Electromagnetic Spectrum

 Name referring to the range of electromagnetic

waves when they are placed in order of
increasing frequency. It is made up of radio
waves, infrared rays visible light, ultraviolet
rays, X-rays and gamma rays.
Different types of radiation in the EM
spectrum
 Radio Waves
 Microwaves
 Infrared Rays
 Light or Visible Spectrum
 Ultraviolet Rays
 X-rays
 Gamma Rays
Visible Spectrum

The visible light spectrum is the

section of the electromagnetic
spectrum that is visible to the
human eye. It is also known as the
optical spectrum of light.
THE VISIBLE
SPECTRUM
 Theories of Light
 Christian Huygen’s Wave Theory

 Sir Isaac Newton’s Corpuscular Theory

 Properties of Light
 Transmission and Absorption of Light
 Transparent
 Translucent
 Opaque

 Reflection
- happens when light waves are neither transmitted
nor absorbed

 Refraction
- the bending of light
 Dispersion
- a process by which light is separated
in colors

 Interference
- interaction between waves travelling
in the same medium
 Constructive interference
 Destructive interference
 Diffraction
- spreading out of light when passes
through narrow slits or sharps edges

 Scattering of Light
- as light moves through the atmosphere,
it bumps into bits of solid particles or gas
molecules and become s scattered in all
directions by either reflection or refraction
(Rayleigh scattering).
 Spectra and Colors
 Color of Objects
Color can be thought of as a psychological
and physiological response to light waves of a
specific frequency or set of frequencies
impinging upon the eye. The retina is lined
with a variety of light sensing cells known as
rods and cones.

 Rods - sensitive to the intensity of light

 Cones - the color-sensing cells
  Color Addition

White light refers to the ROYGBIV – the

presence of the entire spectrum of visible light.

 Primary colors - three colors (or

frequencies) of light that produce white
light when combined with the correct
intensity ( Red, Green and Blue).
 Secondary colors – addition of two
primary colors of light.
 Color Subtraction
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES

“All electromagnetic waves travel at the

same speed but they have different
wavelengths and frequencies.”
VISIBLE LIGHT
Radiation in the wavelengths that your eyes can
see is called a visible light. Only a small portion of
electromagnetic radiation is visible light. The rest of
the wavelengths are invisible.

RADIOWAVES
Radiowaves are the electromagnetic waves that
have the longest wavelengths and lowest frequencies.
It can travel through a vacuum. Most of the radio
waves we received have travelled through air.
Antennas pick up radiowaves and send them through
radio wires. The radio converts the electromagnetic
waves into sound of different frequencies.
MICROWAVES
The radiowaves with the shortest wavelengths and highest
frequencies are called microwaves. One of its most common uses is
that of the microwave ovens. Switching the microwave oven on, gives
off electromagnetic waves that bounds around inside the
oven,penetrating the food.
Microwaves are not easily blocked by structures such as trees,
buildings and mountains. For its reason, microwaves are used to
transmit cellular phone calls.
RADIO DETECTION AND RANGING (Radar)
Radar is used to locate objects. It sends out short pulses of
radiowaves that are reflected by the objects that they strike. A receiver
detects the reflected waves and measures the time it takes for them to
come back.
Radar is used to monitor airplanes landing and taking off at
airports. It is also used to locate ships at sea to track weather system. It
may also be used in sports events to measure a speed of a moving ball.
MAGNETIC RESONACE IMAGING (MRI)
It is a process wherein radiowaves are used in medicines to
produce pictures of tissues in the human body. The pictures show
clear images of muscles and other soft tissues that do not show up
on X-rays.
It is particularly useful in detecting brain and spine disorders.

X-RAYS
These are electromagnetic waves with very short wavelengths.
Their frequencies are just a little bit higher than the UV rays.
Because of their high frequencies, it can penetrate most matter.
Dense matter, such as bone and lead, absorbs x-rays and does not
allow them to pass through. For this reason, X-rays are used to make
images of bones inside the body. Too much exposure to x-ray can
cause cancer.
X-rays may also be used in industry and engineering to check
quality of joints in oil and gas pipelines.
GAMMA RAYS
They have the shortest wavelengths and highest
frequencies. Some radioactive substances and certain
nuclear reactions produce gamma rays. Because of
their great penetrating ability, it can cause serious
illness. However, gamma rays have some medical
uses. It can be used to kill cancer cells in radiation
therapy.
Some objects in space give off burst if gamma rays.
They travel billions of years before they reach Earth.
INFRARED RADIATION
It is also known as Heat rays. These have shorter
wavelengths and higher frequencies than radiowaves.
“Infra” is a Latin prefix meaning “below”, therefore;
Infrared means below red..
It can be detected using electric current produced by
electronic devices that amplify the current and measure it.
It can affect photographic emulsions sensitized to
infrared. Daytime infrared photographs are often used to
simulate moonlight effects.
The infrared lamp is a source of infrared radiation
widely applied in making automobile finishes, cooking,
drying, dehydrating, degreasing and preheating.
ULTRAVIOLET RAYS
These are electromagnetic waves with wavelength
shorter than those of visible light. “Ultra” is a Latin prefix
meaning “beyond” so ultraviolet means beyond violet.
Since they have higher frequencies, they can carry more
energy. UV energy is great enough to damage or kill living
cells, UV lamps are often used to kill bacteria on hospital
equipment and food processing plants.
It also causes the skin to produce Vitamin D for healthy
bones and teeth. UV lamps are used to treat jaundice ,a
condition of the liver that causes the yellowing of the skin
of the new born babies.
LUMINESCENCE
The process by which light is radiated by heated objects
such as the electric light filament, is called incandescence.
Light may also be produced by certain unheated objects
from other forms of energy. These process is called
Luminescence. It may be caused by electricity, chemical
changes, radioactivity, etc.

GLASS GLOW TUBES

Cooper Hewitt(1861-1921), developed the mercury
vapor lamp which is an excellent source of UV radiation. It
is about one and a half inches long and about one fifth as
bright as the sun that are used in television studios, It is an
application of electro-luminescence on the production of
light by electricity.
NEON AND ZEON LIGHTS
Georges Claude(1870)invented the Neon lights. He
founded that rare gases would glow when placed in glass
tubes under low pressure and activated by high voltage
electric current. Neon vapor gives red light; mercury vapor
gives blue light and Helium gives yellow light.
Zeon lights are similar to Neon lights except that the
tubes are coated with phosphors which convert UV
radiation into visible radiation.

KRYPTON LIGHTS
These have been used in airports where they emit short
flashes of very intense fog-penetrating
Light of about 3.3 B candle power ten times bigger than the
sun.
SOURCES OF RADIATION
Electric are lights and mercury vapor lamps when used
with suitable filters to screen out non ultraviolet
wavelengths are the best sources of UV radiation.

APPLICATIONS OF UV RADIATION
Germ killing lamps employ wavelengths which are most
effective in killing bacteria, and which have wide
application in markets, hospitals, restaurants, dairies,etc.
UV radiation causes many dyes to fade and causes
textile to deteriorate. By combining ultraviolet radiation
with artificial rain, cooling and heating, we have
weatherometer, a device to speed up the measurement of
the effects of weather on materials.
FLUORESCENCE
-the emission of light by certain substances when they
are irradiated with electromagnetic wavelengths shorter
than those of visible light.
-produced by cathode rays, gamma rays and x-rays

FLUORESCENT LAMPS
-contain mercury vapor to produce UV radiation
The pigment of fluorescent in the lamp is caused to
glow by this UV radiation. They also contain a trace of
argon to serve as starter.
-are 200%-300% more efficient than incandescent
lamps because they do not waste so much energy in the
form of heat.
PHOSPORESCENCE
Two classes of phosphors are used for detecting and
monitoring nuclear radiation. The first, called Scintillation
Counter Crystals, emit UV radiation when exposed to
nuclear radiation. The second type of detector depends
upon radiophoto luminescence, in which a phosphor
exposed to x-rays and gamma rays.
Phosphors which are excited by fast moving electrons are
used in cathode ray tubes in electron microscopes,
oscilloscopes, radar, TV, and snooper scopes.
Phosphorescence maybe of very short duration or it may
last for as long as four years depending upon the phosphor
used.
nuclear reaction
Nuclear Energy
Changes
is the occur
process in in
which the
two
What is Nuclear Energy?
structure
nuclei or of the particles
nuclear nuclei
Energy
collide to created in
produce a
products
of atoms.
different from
nuclear the initial
reaction
particles.
How is Nuclear Energy Produced?

 Naturally
Nuclear energy is produced in two
 Man-Made
different ways:
 Nuclear Fission
 Nuclear Fusion
 RADIOACTIVITY
Is the spontaneous breakdown of an unstable atomic nucleus
accompanied by the emission of particles and rays

DISCOVERY OF RADIOACTIVITY
• It was discovered by Henri Becquerel, a French scientist, in
1896.

• Becquerel was experimenting with fluorescent minerals,

minerals that give off visible light after being exposed to
sunlight.

• Becquerel decided to place a fluorescent uranium mineral on a

protected photographic plate while the mineral was exposed to
sunlight. Then he found a silhouette of the mineral on the plate
when it was developed
• Believing the uranium mineral emitted x-rays, he
continued his studies until the weather turned cloudy. He
store a wrapped, protected photographic plate and the
uranium mineral together in a cabinet. Later, when he
returned to the materials and developed the photographic
plate, he found again the image of the mineral.

• He concluded that the mineral was emitting an “invisible

radiation” that was not induced by sunlight. The
emission of invisible radiation was later named
RADIOACTIVITY.

• Materials that have the property of radioactivity are

called radioactive materials.
TYPES OF RADIOACTIVITY
1.Alpha Particles (alpha rays)
It is composed of two photons and two neurons. They
are deflected only slightly by a magnetic field. Their
penetrating power is not very great. They can be stopped
by a thin piece of aluminum foil or even by a thin sheet of
paper.

2. Beta Particles (beta rays)

These are electrons which have single negative
charges and travel at nearly the speed of light. They are
deflected significantly more by a magnetic field and in
the opposite direction. The high speed of beta particles
makes them much more penetrating than alpha particles.
3. Gamma Rays
These are high-energy electromagnetic waves.
They are the same kind of radiation as visible light,
but of much shorter wavelength, and thus higher
frequency. They are the most penetrating of the
radiation given off by radioactive elements. They are
not electrically charged and are not deflected by a
magnetic field.
 Marie Curie searched for other radioactive materials
and in the process discovered two new elements:
polonium and radium.

All naturally occurring elements with atomic

numbers greater than 83 are radioactive.

The spontaneous disintegration or decomposition of

a given nucleus is a purely natural process and
cannot controlled or influenced.

The natural spontaneous disintegration or

decomposition of a nucleus is also called
radioactive decay.
 Nuclear Reaction

a process in which two nuclei or nuclear

particles collide, to produce products different
to the initial products. In principle a reaction
can involve more than two particles colliding,
but such an event is exceptionally rare.
 Nuclear Fission
• Fission is a nuclear process in which a
heavy nucleus splits into two smaller
nuclei.
• Fission reactions can produce any
combination of lighter nuclei so long as
the number of protons and neutrons in the
products sum up to those in the initial
fissioning nucleus.
 Nuclear Fusion

nuclear process in which two light nuclei

combine to form a single heavier nucleus.
This reaction liberates an amount of energy
more than a million times greater than one gets
from a typical chemical reaction.
 Fission Bombs
Fission bombs derive their power from
nuclear fission, where heavy nuclei
(uranium or plutonium) split into lighter
elements when bombarded by neutrons
(producing more neutrons which bombard
other nuclei, triggering a nuclear chain
reaction).
 Fusion Bombs
• Fusion bombs are based on nuclear fusion
where light nuclei such as hydrogen and
helium combine together into heavier
elements and release large amounts of
energy.
 Dirty Bombs
 a term for a radiological weapon, a non-
nuclear bomb that disperses radioactive
material that was packed in with the bomb.
When the bomb explodes, the scattering of this
radioactive material causes radioactive
contamination, a health hazard similar to that
of nuclear fallout.
 Advantages of Nuclear Energy
 The Earth has limited supplies of coal and oil.
Nuclear power plants could still produce
electricity after coal and oil become scarce.
 Nuclear power plants need less fuel than ones
which burn fossil fuels. One ton of uranium
produces more energy than is produced by
several million tons of coal or several million
barrels of oil.
 Coal and oil burning plants pollute the air. Well-
operated nuclear power plants do not release
contaminants into the environment.
Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy
 Nuclear explosions produce radiation. The nuclear
radiation harms the cells of the body which can
make people sick or even kill them. Illness can
strike people years after their exposure to nuclear
radiation.
 Nuclear reactors produce nuclear waste products
which emit dangerous radiation.
 Nuclear reactors only last for about forty to fifty
years.
 REFERENCES
 Practical and Explorational Physics by Alicia L. Padua and Ricardo M. Crisostomo
 Physics 3rd Edition by Cutnell/Johnson
 Matter and Energy: Physics in Everyday Life by Clark, John Owen Edward
 Physical Science 7th Edition by Bill W. Tillery
 Inquiry to Physical Science- American Book, New York
 University Physics 6th Edition by Francis Sears
 Matter and Energy: A survey of the physical sciences by Bawden, Arthur Talbot