Which type of solar radiation is the most powerful? Gamma rays are known to be the most potent form of solar radiation. Among the types of solar radiation, gamma rays have the highest photon energy. It’s easy for these rays to infiltrate any surfaces, and only concrete and lead materials can prevent them from passing through.
Gamma rays are invisible to the naked eye; hence, you can only view these rays using special instruments. While this type of solar radiation can benefit several different applications, it can also be fatal and pose some health risks.
Let’s read more about gamma rays below!
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The Different Forms of Solar Radiation
Life won’t be possible on earth without solar radiation. The sun is the primary source of energy, light, and heat to all living creatures, and the heat coming from the sun also determines different climates on earth.
Solar radiation comes in several wavelengths with different sizes, including ultraviolet, microwave, gamma, visible, radio, infrared, and x-ray. Short wavelengths are stronger than long ones.
Let’s learn about the different solar radiation types:
1. Ultraviolet
UV rays have smaller wavelengths than visible waves but longer wavelengths than X-ray rays. They also work with a frequency of approximately 8 × Hz to 3 × Hz. If you’ve got sunburn from staying outside, you’ve come in contact with UV rays.
2. Microwave
The length of microwave rays is approximately 1mm to 1m, and they work at a frequency of about 1 GHz to 300 GHz. One common application of microwaves is ovens. They’re also used in transmitting analog and digital information.
3. Gamma Ray
As the most robust type of solar radiation, gamma rays have smaller wavelengths than X-ray rays. Their length is less than 10 pm, and their work frequency is Hz. Gamma rays can produce PET scans and help us see the universe through telescopes.
4. Visible
This type comes with smaller wavelengths than infrared waves. Their working frequency is approximately from 6.24×1014Hz to 6.24×1014Hz. As for the length, they measure from 380 nm to 700 nm.
You can see visible light without using special instruments. Uses of visible lights include lasers for surgeries and MRI machines.
5. Radio
This one comes with a length between 1 mm and 100 km. Due to this, this type of solar radiation is the least powerful among solar rays. Its working frequency ranges from 300 GHz to 3 kHz. As you can guess from its name, this type is used in radios. It also plays a role in wireless transmissions and air traffic control.
6. Infrared
Compared to visible rays, infrared rays are longer. Nevertheless, they come with smaller wavelengths than microwave waves, and their working frequency is between 300 GHz to 400 THz. As for their length, they roughly measure 1nm to 1mm. Infrared radiation is used in night-vision devices, weather prediction, and thermal imaging cameras.
7. X-Ray
X-ray rays come with smaller wavelengths than UV waves. They have a length of 10mm to 0.01m. Practical applications of this radiation type are not hard to come by. If your bone’s been broken, your doctor has probably given you an X-ray.
Heads Up: Would you like to unveil more about the uses of X-Rays and Gamma Rays? You can get more details by watching this video:
Other Important Uses of Gamma Rays
1. Medical Field
Gamma rays are quite vital in exterminating cancer cells, and the best thing is that doctors don’t need to perform intricate surgical procedures. This treatment is known as radiotherapy, in which the DNA of cancer cells is damaged and the healthy cells continue to recuperate.
Gamma rays are also used in treating thyroid cancer, an example of targeted radiotherapy. This treatment is focused on exterminating the cancer cells on a specific part of the body.
Medical practitioners should be mindful of giving the correct radiation dosage to prevent any issues.
2. Sterilizing Food
Gamma rays are utilized to sterilize foods because they effectively exterminate bacteria and germs that can cause contamination. This process helps make it more convenient to keep the food fresh and safe to consume.
Irradiated foods can also last or be stored for an extended time.
3. Sanitizing or sterilizing medical equipment
In medicine, gamma rays serve a valuable role in keeping medical equipment sanitized or sterilized to ensure the cleanliness and safety of patients.
4. Industries
These days, several industries utilize radioactive substances that act as tracers to see if machines, pipes, and other equipment have damages. Gamma rays are used to test the quality of steel in cars and cracks in cables, for instance.
The Bottom Line
In a nutshell, the answer to which type of solar radiation is the most powerful is gamma rays. Here are a few things to remember about them:
- They are helpful in the medical field, industries, and in sterilizing foods
- They can exterminate cancer cells but can damage the body if taken in excessive dosage
As the founder of the Avasolar team, I aspire to solve the problems for households in selecting, installing, and utilizing solar mechanical devices.