Educational Model: Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation on Organisms

Part of the IUMC (Innovative Educational and Methodological Complex) “Ecology: Constructing the Biosphere,” developed in 2008 by D. A. Shabanov, A. G. Kozlenko, and M. A. Kravchenko by order of the NTFP (National Training Foundation) of the Russian Federation (more about this project is in the article “Innovation and Reality”; the reasons why this complex is not used are briefly described in the column “Textbooks: Straight into the Day After Tomorrow”). This model is posted here for educational use. The model shows the effects on living organisms of electromagnetic radiation with different wavelengths. The theoretical material related to the model is presented in the section Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation, as well as Composition of Solar Radiation and Absorption of Solar Radiation by the Atmosphere, in the manual “Ecology: Biology of Interactions.” Instructions for working with the model are located at the very bottom of its window; if these instructions do not fit in the small window, they can be scrolled up and down using the arrows on the right. In the lower part of the model window, an EMR scale is shown. The user can select individual parts of this scale, and if several biological effects are associated with that part of the spectrum, select the required one in the upper right part of the screen. Some tasks that can be solved while working with the model: 1. Understand what causes lead to the formation of exactly that EMR range which reaches Earth’s surface. 2. By selecting individual EMR spectrum ranges on the scale, examine the biological effects of electromagnetic radiation of different wavelengths.