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zoobyshoe
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Here's an article by a woman who obtained a radiation monitor and noted it's readings at various places she went:
http://www.ratical.org/radiation/radMonData.html
I have a question about this passage:
I am also baffled by this revelation:
Why is it so radioactive in the sky?
I started out doing a bit of research into the radioactivity of common food, due to my accidental discovery of the banana equivalent dose.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose
This lead to having to sort out units of radiation:
http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/radiation/health-effects/measuring-radiation.html
That site contains the following mysterious comparisons:
http://www.theatlantic.com/national...ophe-youve-probably-never-heard-about/261959/
Anyway, I'm not sure why a non-illuminated clock should be so radioactive, nor why the radiation is so extremely high in commercial jets.
http://www.ratical.org/radiation/radMonData.html
I have a question about this passage:
Why would this clock be so radioactive?Rick and I did some traveling and took our monitors with us. In West Virginia, out on the open highway, we saw. our lowest reading: 2 cpm. On another trip, we went to Oak Ridge, TN, each of us driving separate vehicles. As we compared readings along the way, Rick's readings were inevitably higher, even when we switched Radalerts. Eventually he determined that the elevated readings in his truck were caused by a U.S. Navy-issued clock that he had owned for years.
Although the clock did not have luminescent dials or numbers, the Radalert would shoot up over 100 cpm when it was placed in close proximity to the clock. Rick sequestered the clock.
I am also baffled by this revelation:
My biggest surprise of radiation levels was on a flight from Atlanta to Philadelphia. Radalert readings ranged from 270-330 cpm until we started to descend. A flight attendant told me that radiation levels are even higher on flights to Europe.
Oh a second flight from Atlanta to Philadelphia, this time at night, I was even more surprised by the Radalert readings. For forty minutes, Radalert readings ranged from 278-448 cpm. For seven consecutive minutes, readings were above 400 cpm. In forty minutes I'd been exposed to 15,240 rads -- the same amount I would receive in 15 hours in my apartment.
Why is it so radioactive in the sky?
I started out doing a bit of research into the radioactivity of common food, due to my accidental discovery of the banana equivalent dose.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose
This lead to having to sort out units of radiation:
http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/radiation/health-effects/measuring-radiation.html
That site contains the following mysterious comparisons:
For practical purposes, 1 R (exposure) = 1 rad (absorbed dose) = 1 rem or 1000 mrem (dose equivalent).
Note that a measure given in Ci tells the radioactivity of a substance, while a measure in rem (or mrem) tells the amount of energy that a radioactive source deposits in living tissue. For example, a person would receive a dose equivalent of 1 mrem from anyone of the following activities:
- 3 days of living in Atlanta
- 2 days of living in Denver
- 1 year of watching television (on average)
- 1 year of wearing a watch with a luminous dial
- 1 coast-to-coast airline flight
- 1 year living next door to a normally operating nuclear power plant
http://www.theatlantic.com/national...ophe-youve-probably-never-heard-about/261959/
Anyway, I'm not sure why a non-illuminated clock should be so radioactive, nor why the radiation is so extremely high in commercial jets.