Why are some wavelengths of EM radiation dangerous, and others not?

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As I understand it, the only real difference between radio, visible light, x-ray and everything in between is its wavelength. For instancew, radio has a very long wavelength, x-ray very short, visible in the middle somewhere. This means that radio can penetrate stuff (matter?) more effectively, among other things.

Radio waves are (essentially?) harmless, but shorter wavelengths are famously more dangerous, from sunburn all the way to straight up cancer and so forth. Why is that?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

One other thing to note, the kind of microwave radiation used in your kitchen is dangerous too, but not because it’s ionizing or energetic like UV or gamma rays. Microwave oven radiation is specifically tuned to cause molecules like water to vibrate and flip around, which makes them heat up. This works in food, but also works on your body and can cause burns. These burns are thermal burns instead of radiation, caused by the water in your body absorbing the microwaves and heating up.

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