Question: what is radiation poisoning

Kristian Harder answered on 15 Nov 2013:

Ok, I admit it rightaway, I looked it up on Wikipedia because I remembered at least two options for what it might be, and I couldn’t decide which one is correct. It turns out the term is used for many things,
– the effect that radiation has on a (human) body, but also
– the effect of eating (or drinking) radioactive material
There are three types of radioactivity, leading to alpha rays (Helium nuclei, very heavy but won’t get far – theremore most dangerous when getting inside a body), beta rays (electrons or sometimes anti-electrons with quite high energy) and gamma rays (photons like light or X-rays, but much higher energy). The dangerous thing is that each of these types sends off particles of enough energy that they can seriously damage body cells, for example the DNA inside them. This can have long-term effects (like cancer), but, if the irradiation is strong enough, lead to pretty much immediate death of those cells, if some vital parts involved in their metabolism is destroyed.
So I guess the main difference between radiation poisoning and “normal” poisoning is that normal poisons act chemically, whereas radiation poisoning is a bit like hitting body cells with little sledge hammers.
Both types are best avoided. 🙂