 Amazing rays. Radiation is all around us in different forms. We're constantly exposed to it, mostly from natural sources like the sun. This source of energy has many uses. What is radiation? Radiation is the release of energy in the form of waves or particles. Its most familiar form is visible light, but this energy can vary in intensity. Low energy radiation enables us to listen to the radio, use cell phones and microwave ovens. High energy, ultraviolet, gamma and x-rays are powerful enough to cause changes at the atomic level. While too much radiation can be harmful, we can harness its power to our benefit. What can we do with radiation? Most of us have benefited from an x-ray, some even from the power of rays to destroy tumors. But radiation is also used in many other applications. It can sterilize flies and mosquitoes as an environmentally friendly pest control method. It can give mother nature a helping hand by speeding up mutations to create better plant varieties. Radiation can kill bacteria and sterilize and preserve food products. It can even modify car parts and cables to make them sturdier and fireproof. Techniques using radiation are a regular part of our daily lives and offer great benefits to human health, agriculture, industry, the environment and many other areas.