Most people are familiar with the dangers of radiation. However, there is and has been a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding surrounding its effects. A lot of it stems from radiation’s link to nuclear weapons. In fact, even the US government has made some very misleading statements about radiation in the past. For example, after dropping the nuclear bombs on Japan to end World War II, the US claimed that there wouldn’t be any fallout radiation or that it wouldn’t have any negative effects. Unfortunately, it did. Since then we have learned a lot about radiation and its effects on the human body as you will soon see with these 25 intense facts about radiation.
Because of the misinformation in the past, there are lots of people who subscribe to somewhat pseudoscientific beliefs about radiation. While it is true that it can be harmful. And yes, you should avoid getting x-rayed too much. There is more to the radiation story. For example, only ionizing radiation is dangerous. This is the high intensity radiation like gamma rays and x-rays. We are constantly bombarded by electromagnetic waves that simply pass through us or go around us without any harm. These include radio waves, microwaves, and more. Our entire universe is full of radiation. In fact, your TV even picks up some of the radiation left over form the Big Bang! There is no escaping it. These are 25 intense facts about radiation and its crazy effects!
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The crew of a submerged nuclear submarine are actually exposed to less radiation than somebody standing on dry ground. This is due to various factors, including less background radiation.
Source: epa.gov, Image: wikipedia The power plant at Chernobyl is still emitting radiation and there is a good chance that the containment structure may collapse, leading to even more radioactive emissions.
Source: wired.co.uk, Image: wikipedia Due to the high amount of granite used in its construction, Grand Central Station in NYC emits more radiation then what would be allowed even at a nuclear power plant
Source: world-nuclear.org, Image: wikipedia There is a certain species of fungus in Chernobyl that actually thrives on radiation (Crytococcus neoformans)
Source: scienceagogo.com, Image: wikipedia The average smoker receives an annual dose of radiation equivalent to about 300 chest x-rays due to radioactive isotopes in the smoke
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia On December 24 2004, Earth was blasted by the largest amount of radiation ever recorded. It came from a neutron star nearly 50,000 light years away
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Bananas are relatively radioactive
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Due to cosmic radiation hitting their retinas, astronauts will sometimes see bright flashes when they close their eyes
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Pilots and flight attendants are exposed to more radiation in a year than some nuclear power plant workers. For this reason, they are officially classified as "radiation workers"
Source: nasa, Image: wikipedia A small amount of uranium (a handful) has about as much radiation as 10 bananas. We told you those bananas are radioactive!
Source: idigumining.com, Image: wikipedia The Manhattan Project tested the effects of radiation on citizens in some pretty outlandish ways, including feeding babies radioactive oatmeal.
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia Albert Stevens was injected with plutonium during a Manhattan Project experiment. He survived its radioactive effects for 20 years and would eventually become the longest surviving human being that was exposed to such high levels of radiation
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Vladimir Pravik was a firefighter who responded to the blast at Chernobyl. It is said that his eyes turned from brown to blue because of the radiation
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia The United States originally denied that atomic bombs cause lingering radioactivity. They even cited this as Japanese propaganda.
Source: reddit, Image: wikipedia After Marie Curie discovered radium, it was used in everything from toothpaste to candy. Of course, it had very negative health effects
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia People living near coal power plants are exposed to more radiation than those living near nuclear power plants
Source: inference.phy.cam.ac.uk, Image: wikipedia A toy called the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory was sold during the 50s. It came with real-live ore samples.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia In a few thousand years, when binary star system WR 104 explodes in a supernova, it could blast Earth with enough radiation to cause mass extinction.
Source: news.discovery.com, Image: wikipedia The American flags placed on the moon have all been bleached white due to radiation from the Sun
Source: wikipedia, Image: methodshop.com via flickr Roughly 1% of the static from an untuned analog TV is due to cosmic background radiation left over from the Big Bang
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Soybeans near Chernobyl have been found to develop anti-radiation defenses. This may prove helpful to humans in the future.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia After studying life around Chernobyl and other nuclear disaster zones, radiation may have facilitated genetic mutations that helped various species to survive
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Although it is true that cellphones emit radiation, so do people. In fact, you emit more radiation than your cellphone does
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Industrial waste products such as arsenic are more dangerous to humans than an equivalent amount of nuclear waste products
Source: nei.org, Image: wikipedia We are constantly bombarded by radiation every day. Most of it is harmless. It is only ionizing radiation that can be harmful in high enough doses (x-rays, gamma rays, etc)
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