The boundary between Ionizing and Non-ionizing Frequency

The electromagnetic frequency (or EM waves) can be classified according to its biological effects, whether it is ionizing or non-ionizing. Non-ionizing frequencies can be polarizing, depending also on the magnitude of the wave. For our information, ionizing frequencies can cause mutation in human body cells that causes cancer and alteration of human DNA. Polarizing frequency, on the other hand, cannot cause mutation but can cause excessive heating of body fluids, like water, that can burn or cook the tissue, just like how a dressed chicken was cooked inside a microwave oven.

However, drawing a line between ionizing and non-ionizing frequencies is hard to establish because every chemical element that composed to an organism has different level of ionization energy. But for us, human’s, point of view, it is quite obvious that the boundary between ionizing and non-ionizing frequency is the frequency of the visible light (430 THz - 750 THz). This is because within the range of these frequencies and below, our body that is always exposed on it does not experience ionization, thus, safe. However, Ultra-Violet (UV) frequency, which is the frequency of the EM waves that is next higher to the frequency of the violet visible light, (that’s why it is called “Ultra Violet”), is already cancerous for the human skin when continuously exposed on it due to its ionizing effect. A visible evidence of the ionization in human body due to UV radiation is the “sun burn”.

Other types of frequency that is above the frequency of the visible light are X-rays, and Gamma rays. All of these have a cancerous effect in human body.

Category Filed in: Energy and Science, Physics -