The articles I found on radiation in the solar system mostly dealt with solar wind, I wonder about other types. Is there a breakdown that tells me, withhin an order of magnitude, at least what intensity I can expect for a the different spectra - hard gamma through to radio frequencies, and chargede particles - and how this varies depending on my position?
2 Answers
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Radiation is divided into two categories - ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation.
Ionizing radiation is radiation with sufficient energy to remove electrons from the orbits of atoms resulting in charged particles, and it is this type of radiation that is evaluated for purposes of radiation protection. Examples of ionizing radiation include gamma rays, protons, and neutrons. Ionizing radiation is different from ion formation that occurs in ordinary chemical reactions, such as the generation of table salt from sodium and chlorine. In such a reaction, only the outermost electron is removed to form a positively charged ion. With ionizing radiation, if the energy is sufficient, electrons other than those in the outermost orbits can be released; this process renders the atom very unstable, and these ions are very chemically reactive.
Non-ionizing radiation is radiation without sufficient energy to remove electrons from their orbits. Examples are microwaves, radio waves, and visible light.
Space radiation consists primarily of ionizing radiation which exists in the form of high-energy, charged particles. There are three naturally occurring sources of space radiation: trapped radiation, galactic cosmic radiation (GCR), and solar particle events (SPE).
This press release talks about radiation on the way to Mars.
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Ionizing radiation comes in many different forms, but most significantly in interplanetary space is the presence of charged particles. This is exemplified by high energy protons such as in Solar Wind or by other ionized elements. This is of primary significance for satellites, etc. and these devices undergo testing in particle accelerators which are capable of exciting particles to sufficient energies.
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