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Glossary
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Magnetic cutoff energy |
Minimum energy that a particle must have in order to reach Earth's upper atmosphere, coming from space. This energy varies with the geographical position on the Globe. It is greater in the equatorial regions that in the polar regions.
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Exposure |
Action of submitting the system or one of its parts to ionising radiation.
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Radioactivity |
Property of certain chemical elements where the nucleus spontaneously disintegrates, thereby creating other elements and emitting ionising radiation consisting of charged particles (electrons, alpha particles) or neutral particles (X photons, gamma, neutrons).
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Radiation protection |
Series of measures intended to protect man against the harmful effects of ionising radiation.
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Radiation sensitivity |
The biological risk due to ionising radiation is not uniform throughout the system. It depends on the radiation sensitivity of the exposed organ.
The most sensitive tissues are those where the cells are rapidly renewed. Tissues can be ranked from the most to the least sensitive: embryonic tissues, haematopoietic organs (spleen, bone marrow, lymphatic ganglions), the gonads, the epidermis, the intestinal mucuous membrane, connective tissue, muscle tissue, nerve tissue.
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Ionising radiation |
Radiation consisting of photons or particles capable of directly or indirectly controlling the formation of ions (by stripping electrons).
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