LIGHT EMISSION OBSERVED FROM IONIZING RADIATION SOURCES
M.A.Padmanabha Rao
Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur 342001, Rajasthan, India, raomap@yahoo.com,
Light emission has been observed
along with characteristic X-rays (from chemicals such as Rubidium
Sulphate, Barium Oxide and Terbium Peroxide on excitation of gamma rays from
241Am) a fact unknown since the
discovery of X-rays. Light emission
also has been observed from radioisotopes, a fact unknown since the discovery of
radioactivity. It evidently showed light emission follows mainly
the X-rays, gamma rays, and beta particles. The emission has been observed even when the sources are
present in metal form (Cu, Ag, and Mo targets on gamma excitation; also from
57Co and 60 Co) notably at room temperature.
These results exclude emission of incandescent light, and suggest that the light
observed must be occurring through a new atomic phenomenon. Since metal
constitutes metal atoms, the emission should be atomic emission of light, in
other words, fluorescent light, which is believed to be the same case with the
rest of the sources. But fluorescent light emission from chemicals is never
known particularly at room temperature since the inception of atomic
spectroscopy. It could happen only because in all these sources the light
emission takes place from the same excited atom, which emits ionizing
radiations. A further study using sheet polarizers showed dominance of UV in
comparison to visible and near infrared radiations from low energy ionizing
radiation sources like characteristic X-rays, and a little raise in near
infrared radiation from high-energy sources like 60Co and
90Sr. Furthermore, the
intensity of light was found relatively high from low energy sources in
comparison to that from high-energy sources. These strange results, which support fluorescent light
emission could be explained well by an atomic phenomenon: (1)
Ionizing radiation loses energy in eV level while
passing through charged space around the orbital electrons within the atom of
their origin. The loss of energy that forms electromagnetic radiation,
with energies in eV level, excites valence electron and causes fluorescent light
emission.
Other publications of the author on optical emission newly detected from radioisotopes and XRF sources: https://www.angelfire.com/sc3/1010/publications.html