ANTIBIOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING. Bacteria demonstrate two kinds of resistance to antibiotics, namely intrinsic resistance and acquired resistance. Intrinsic resistance means that the species was resistant to an antibiotic even before its introduction.
Radiation is naturally present in our environment, as it has been since before the birth of this planet. In addition, radiation can be produced artificially, as in medical x-rays and microwaves for cooking. Nonetheless, most people are not aware of all the natural and man-made sources of radiation in our environment.
The animation below shows the three types of radiations that can be released when an unstable nucleus decays. Alpha particles are released by high mass, proton rich unstable nuclei. The alpha particle is a helium nucleus; it consists of two protons and two neutrons. It contains no electrons to balance the two positively charged protons. Alpha particles are therefore positively charged particles moving at high speeds. Beta particles are emitted by neutron rich unstable nuclei. Beta particles are high energy electrons.