Does this object now also give off radiation/become radioactive?
For example, if a dust particle were to be hit by a ton of gamma radiation, would this piece of dust become radioactive?
Edit: what does it mean when the piece of dust becomes contaminated?
In: Physics
Well, technically “irradiated” can just mean you’ve shone a bright light on an object. Assuming you’re talking about ionising radiation (e.g. the stuff that can kill you), AFAIK the only way that can make a material permanently radioactive is via a process called neutron absorption, where the atoms of the material take extra neutrons in and get turned into (likely radioactive) isotopes. Gamma radiation can’t do that.
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