 Hey everybody, Dr. Rowe here. This video we're going to cover the two types of radiation that are used as physical methods of microbial control. So we have ionizing versus non-ionizing radiation. A couple of key differences right out of the gate, ionizing radiation is much more powerful. Non-ionizing radiation is only useful on surfaces kind of because of that power difference. So let's start with ionizing radiation. We're talking about very, very high intensity rays like x-rays and gamma rays. It actually will cause damage to the entire double helix of DNA, which means that itself can lead to mutations or when repair mechanisms try to repair it, it can lead to mutations. So basically your greatly accelerating mutation rates until these cells will die. So the advantages of using gamma rays and x-rays is that they can easily penetrate surfaces like paper and plastic. So it's a great way to sterilize things that are in packages. So when you talk about some of the males being radiated and these kind of things, but it's sense it can penetrate more deeply, it can be used to sterilize things that are in packages. This is used in food like spices are a great example of things where gamma radiation is used in other countries in Europe and other parts of the world. Many countries allow for gamma radiation of all different types of foods. There are certainly radiated foods here in the United States, but it's been a little slower to catch on. People think of radiation, but it doesn't actually make the food radioactive, right? So not just in food supply though, but also in the medical industry, you're going to see like in our microbiology lab, our plastic petri dishes have been radiated, our plastic disposable wire loops for inoculating loops have been sterilized in, there are certain drugs are going to be sterilized this way, medical equipment, et cetera. So that is ionizing radiation, very powerful radiation damages DNA at the double strand level and can penetrate surfaces. So that's the key that keys there with ionizing radiation. This here is called the radura. When a food has been radiated with gamma radiation, you have this symbol has to be on it. And the term you'll see is often electronic pasteurization. So when someone talks about a food being electronically pasteurized, they're talking about that gamma radiation. Okay. The other type of radiation is non-ionizing radiation. This is going to be UV light. So just like the UV light you're exposed to when you go outside, you know, especially during the summer months, it's going to create these thymine dimers. So thymine dimers are a type of mutation in DNA. And then when you're, that can either lead to mutations directly or when your body tries to repair those same kind of things. So the key with UV rays and non-ionizing radiation is there is no penetration depth. So disinfection of surfaces. So I think of like your germicidal lamps, like UV lamps can be used in surgical suites and nurseries and things like that. You're seeing UV light being used more and more like in water. I have a friend that has a UV lamp in his fish tank and you can get it for your water as well. You can even buy portable ones if you're, if you go camping and these kind of things. So the key, so non-ionizing radiation UV rays can kill microbes in the air and in liquids, but they don't have that penetrating power. So that's kind of what makes them a little less effective as far as with your packaged goods. All right. So those are the two types of radiation that can be used to control microbial growth. I hope this helps. Have a wonderful day. Be blessed.