Re: [SLUG-POL] (FWD) The "Real" Deal about Nuclear, Bio, and Chem Attacks

From: Paul M Foster (paulf@quillandmouse.com)
Date: Thu Oct 18 2001 - 18:52:24 EDT


On Wed, Oct 17, 2001 at 08:11:01PM -0400, Bryan-TheBS-Smith wrote:

> Paul M Foster wrote:

<snip>

> > First; your skin will stop alpha particles, a page of a news paper or
> > your clothing will stop beta particles, you just gotta try and
> > avoid inhaling dust that's contaminated with atoms that are emitting these
> > things and you'll be generally safe from them.
>
> Alpha and beta won't get you from the outside. Like chemical
> weapons, you'll need to inhale them to get you.
>

No, you have to inhale something that emits alpha and beta. You don't
inhale alpha and beta particles, and if you do, they're harmless. Alpha
particles are just helium nuclei, but very energetic ones. Beta
particles are electrons, but also very energetic. Their momentum after a
blast is what propels them through barriers (though very thin ones).
Gamma particles are more dangerous because they are photons (i.e.
massless). But in striking DNA and other cellular structures, they
impart a great deal of energy, which is what causes the cell to necrose.
The body can't handle the mass necrosis, which is what radiation
sickness really is.

<snip>

> > The radiation poisoning will not effect plants so fruits and
> > vegetables are OK if there's no dust on em (rinse em off if
> > there is).
>
> I actually didn't know this. I assumed that any carbon-based
> material, from water to skin, can be affected by ionizing
> radiation. Hmmm, I need to research out more.
>

It's not technically true. Radiation has the same effect on plants as on
any other living thing. It will cause the plant to die or mutate.
However, the plants we eat are dead already, so it doesn't much matter.
I suspect a cornfield would die if exposed, since it's living. But then
you just pick the corn and eat it. The primary element of the lifeform
(carbon) doesn't really have anything to do with it. It would only make
a difference if the particular element was prone to becoming radioactive
itself when irradiated.

Paul



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