Effect of radiation on plants

ABSTRACT

Radiation can become very dangerous depending on what kind of radiation it is, and how long something is exposed to it. Radiation has two types, non-ionizing, which is mostly harmless, and ionizing. This high-energy, ionizing radiation can lead to serious problems within an organism. Radiation energy is transferred by particles or waves. While non-ionizing radiation is relatively low-energy, ionizing radiation is so high in energy it can break chemical bonds. This means it can change the charge of an atom that interacts with it. At high levels, this can even damage and destroy the nucleus of an atom, directly affecting an organism's DNA. Once DNA is tampered with, an organism can develop dangerous mutations. Alpha radiation occurs when an atom undergoes radioactive decay, giving off a particle (called an alpha particle) consisting of two protons and two neutrons (essentially the nucleus of a helium-4 atom), changing the originating atom to one of an element with an atomic number 2 less and atomic weight 4 less than it started with, Beta radiation takes the form of either an electron or a positron (a particle with the size and mass of an electron, but with a positive charge) being emitted from an atom, gamma radiation can travel much farther through air than alpha or beta, losing (on average) half its energy for every 500 feet. Gamma waves can be stopped by a thick or dense enough layer material, with high atomic number. It can also be summarized that Flowering, pollination, reproduction, seed growth, plant cell and seed development are variously affected by UV-B irradiation.