Irradiation refers to the process of exposing an object or substance to radiation, which can be in the form of electromagnetic waves (such as gamma rays or X-rays), or particles (such as alpha or beta particles). This process is commonly used in various fields for different purposes: 1. **Food Preservation**: In the food industry, irradiation is a method used to preserve food by killing bacteria, parasites, and other pathogens, as well as to inhibit sprouting and ripening.
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Irradiation is exposure of a material or system to radiation. The source, particle flux, energy distribution and duration specify what arrives; the material's interactions determine what is transmitted, scattered or absorbed. Exposure to light can excite a molecule, whereas sufficiently energetic ionizing radiation can remove an electron or produce more extensive changes.
Incident energy and deposited energy are different quantities. A sample can transmit most of an incident beam, so the absorbed dose cannot generally be inferred from incident power and duration without an absorption model. The same distinction matters when an irradiation experiment compares materials with different thicknesses or compositions.