The Electromagnetic Spectrum
We've seen that the difference between different colors of light is simply the wavelength. There are many colors that we can't see, but they still exist and still carry energy. We saw that our phone for example, can "see" IR radiation through its camera.
It turns out that different colors of light can carry different amounts of energy. Of all the types listed here, only the shortest wavelength ones (UV, XRray, Gamma) can carry enough energy in a single particle of light to break a chemical bond. So these are ionizing radiation, just like high velocity alpha and beta particles.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
We've seen that the difference between different colors of light is simply the wavelength. There are many colors that we can't see, but they still exist and still carry energy. We saw that our phone for example, can "see" IR radiation through its camera.
It turns out that different colors of light can carry different amounts of energy. Of all the types listed here, only the shortest wavelength ones (UV, XRray, Gamma) can carry enough energy in a single particle of light to break a chemical bond. So these are ionizing radiation, just like high velocity alpha and beta particles.