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Background ionising radiation: a pictorial perspective

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Abstract

Ionising radiation from natural sources, known as background radiation, has existed on earth since the earth’s formation. The exposure of humans and other living creatures to this radiation is a feature of the earth’s environment which is continuing and inescapable. The word “radiation” brings fear to many people: a fear of the unknown, as human’s senses cannot detect the presence of ionising radiation. In this study, a catalogue of images of the distribution of radioactivity in every day objects and foods has been produced using an imaging plate from a computed radiography cassette. The aim of the study is that by visually demonstrating that every day objects and foods are radioactive would alleviate the fear of “radiation” by becoming aware that we live in a radioactive environment and even our body is radioactive.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Medical Imaging, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, 72 King William Road, North Adelaide, SA, 5006, Australia

    Giovanni Bibbo & Lino Piotto

Authors
  1. Giovanni Bibbo
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  2. Lino Piotto
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Correspondence to Giovanni Bibbo.

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Bibbo, G., Piotto, L. Background ionising radiation: a pictorial perspective. Australas Phys Eng Sci Med 37, 575–581 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13246-014-0286-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13246-014-0286-5

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