The year 2012 info

[Clavin12]

Or a deity ignored and forgotten for many years shows himself and separates the faithful from the unfaithful throwing the unfaithful into eternal damnation and giving the faithful a new, pure earth.

[Nielk1]

it really is impossible to fore cast a specific end to the world because the world could end so many different ways. Nuclear Holocaust, meteor strike, gamma ray burst, just to name a few.

Robots, The Matrix, conversion into a quantum state so thus nothing can be established by observation (the observers are in said state too) so everything just ceases to exist.

[Clavin12]

Gamma ray bursts happen at least once a day and last for a few seconds then die down. They don't cause much harm unless one hits you squarely in the genetics or something.

[AHadley]

Beta radiation is most damaging. More so than alpha and gamma anyways, I haven't started the advanced physics course so there may be others that I don't know about.

[Clavin12]

Gamma radiation is by far the most damaging. Beta radiation can be stopped by aluminum foil while gamma takes several inches of lead. Look it up.

[AHadley]

Ah, but gamma radiation for the most part passes straight through human flesh, and can only cause damage if it 'hits you squarely in the genetics' as you so eloquently put it. Beta radiation is entirely absorbed by the human body. 'Tis GCSE Physics. (TAKS to you?)

[Mr X]

How damaging it is depends on where it is in relation to you,

if it starts iff inside you alpha is the worst as it all gets absorbed by your body, whereas gamma would pass through,

likewise from the outside gamma and beta are more damaging.

[VSMIT]

Except that beta particles are stopped by stuff like clothes or your skin.

[Clavin12]

From the outside gamma is the most damaging because it penetrates straight through you. Gamma bursts are from very very far away and thus are a lot less dangerous than they would be up close.

[Feared_1]

Lets make it simple:

Too much of any radiation is dangerous. They're dangerous in their own ways, but they all usually end up making you sick.

[iron maiden]

what your forgetting is that burst's of radiation like that do damage to the ozone layer which results in uvb rays from the sun to penetrate the earth through the holes caused by the damage. not to mention that a weakened ozone results in a slightly weaker atmosphere which makes meteors tougher to burn up upon entry.

[AHadley]

Ultraviolet light is highly unlikely to cause radiation sickness / poisoning.

Lets make it simple:

Too much of any radiation is dangerous. They're dangerous in their own ways, but they all usually end up making you sick.

[Raven]

Um...

Alpha radiation travels a matter of centimetres, and is blocked by the skin. Its a comparatively large particle consisting of two protons and 2 neutrons, with a positive charge. It can be stopped by most substances (its used in smoke alarms, the smoke blocks the particle from hitting the detector = alarm sounds.) Although externally it poses practically no threat, if an emitter finds its way inside your body, and the radiation ionises from it, serious damage can occur to organ tissues. The lungs is a favourite.

Beta radiation can indeed be stopped by foil, it travels a bit farther than alpha, some instances up to several feet. Its a fast moving electron and can get itself a few millimeters into your skin. Again, poses a hazard if a source of the radiation is inside your body but doesn't have the 'rape factor' that alpha has.

Gamma passes straight through your body. It isn't a particle, its a photon and acts as a wave (wave-particle duality ftw.) However, as it passes through your body, it does quite a bit of damage due to its high energy and frequency, which is what enables it to travel pretty big distances.


Come on folks I did this crap years ago!


All radiation is bad under the right conditions and quantities.

[Clavin12]

What i'd like to know is how to reverse nuclear decay (which causes radiation).

[Nielk1]

Robots, The Matrix, conversion into a quantum state so thus nothing can be established by observation (the observers are in said state too) so everything just ceases to exist.

Oh, I forgot! Daleks an Cybermen.