Why is lights like gamma rays and X-rays dangerous while visible light and radio waves isn’t?
In: Physics
It’s not really light that’s dangerous, it’s radiation. Some radiation does not really interact with us (radio waves, some visible light) while some radiation is mildly damaging (x rays, ultraviolent light–which is what causes sunburns!) and some radiation is moderately to extremely damaging (the sort that comes from things like uranium and radiation sources used in industrial applications or medical devices.) How dangerous any kind of radiation is depends on intensity, length of exposure, and type of radiation.
Radiation is a form of energy that can be considered as either rays or particles. It’s dangerous because we are made up of bits that the radiation can affect. When exposed to some kinds of radiation, both our DNA and our cellular structure can be damaged by the emitted rays/particles that make up measurable radiation, which can cause health issues ranging from “sunburn” to “catastrophic organ failure.”
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