Term: radiation reaction https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.RT07149 Definition: Chemical reaction that is induced by ionizing radiation with γ-ray, X-ray, electron, or other high-energy beams. Notes: 0) Radiation reactions involving polymers often lead to chain scission and @CT07136@. 1) A @P04585@ is sometimes regarded as a type of radiation reaction. Related Terms: 1) crosslinking (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.CT07136). 2) photochemical reaction (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04585). 3) ionizing radiation (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.I03216). Source: PAC, 2004, 76, 889. 'Definitions of terms relating to reactions of polymers and to functional polymeric materials (IUPAC Recommendations 2003)' on page 894 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac200476040889) Citation: 'radiation reaction' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.RT07149 License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms. Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.