KEY TERMS

• • Radiation

    Radiation describes a variety of waves or particles that carry energy through space. Electromagnetic radiation includes visible, infrared and ultraviolet light; radio waves; x-rays and gamma rays. Particle radiation refers to atomic-scale particles – from whole atomic nuclei to electrons, protons and neutrons – that move through space, carrying energy with them. These particles can be the product of radioactive decay, in which a material emits particle radiation as it turns into another material. Particle radiation can also result from the acceleration of particles within a powerful magnetic or electric field – as is the case with the charged particle radiation within Jupiter’s magnetosphere.