- Joined
- May 25, 2013
- Messages
- 115
- Points
- 18
Hey everyone, I have a question. It might appear stupid to some but I'll go ahead anyway. As you probably know already, ionization is the process when an atom is given enough energy and it loses (or gains) electrons as they get excited to higher states (eventually leaving the atom). And, as we know, it can cause mutations like cancer or leukemia to humans, if the frequency of the wave emitted is below 380nm (approximately). However, I read a YouTube comment where someone claims that non-ionizing lasers (meaning lasers of about 400nm to pretty much anything-infrared or even beyond) can ionize air molecules. Is that true? Do air molecules require less energy to excite electrons? If so, why? I always thought the energy (for example the energy of the ground state) of the states in an atom was the same to every molecule.