Starbeast
Benevolent Galaxy Being
25 Most Radioactive Places on Earth
@Alexa - These are just the "radioactive" contaminated areas, there are other areas equally contaminated in the world, caused by Oil Drilling and Gold Mining (just to name a couple).
A few of the books I've been reading lately (along with these Isaac Arthur videos that have taken over my evening playlist) have me surprised at how much the rest of the universe is so inhospitable to humans because of radiation. Basically as soon as we leave Earth we're dead. (Unless we cross our genes with the water bears, of course.)
Also, some of us may be eating off of the most radioactive things in our house - Fiestaware!
Although that is possible it is actually likely to not be the case. Most microbes and viruses have evolved to target very specific niches in within their environment and simply ignore everything else. As such they would be very unlikely to find humans to be a viable target in the same way that the majority of viruses and microbes on Earth do not attack humans. There are of course occasional occasions when a virus 'jumps' from one species to another, like 'bird' flue, but most of the time this does not happen. Extrapolating from that it is highly unlikely that our biology would prove vulnerable to microbes that have evolved to attack alien organisms.Even if we successfully ran the radiation gauntlet of outer Space and got to another system with an earth like planet capable of supporting life, we couldn't go there. The microbes and viruses on that world would likely prove lethal to us and the microbes and viruses we carry would likely prove lethal to the the biosphere of that planet.
Yeah, but those "radioactive" contaminated areas are more scary. You know they usually require special costumes, the kind you need to explore other planets, additional iodine treatements, etc.
This is a little more than an "occasional occasion" and as such I think it is a valid concern. Practically all of the infectious diseases that we suffer, 'jumped species' and resulted from when man began farming animals and brought them indoors with him at night for warmth and safety. In addition, some of the panspermia ideas suggest viruses come originally from space.Most microbes and viruses have evolved to target very specific niches in within their environment and simply ignore everything else... There are of course occasional occasions when a virus 'jumps' from one species to another, like 'bird' flue, but most of the time this does not happen.
West Cornwall is pretty radioactive (natural radon). If you go down some of the tin mines water comes out of the rocks piping hot.
Yeah I used to rock climb there quite often and it was noticeable that our hands, after a weekend climbing on the granite, would typically look almost sunburnt for a few days after. But actually it was nothing like enough to do any harm on a short visit. Probably less than the ISS astronauts get in a couple of months!I find them less scary - because it is an awful lot easier to detect radioactivity than it is chemical contamination. You get a geiger counter, you point and it goes click. Or click, click, click, click, click if there is a lot of radioactivity. Chemical contamination needs more complicated tests.
Also, in terms of chemical contamination - well some of the time protective suits would be a good idea. Breathing in chemically contaminated dust is never good for you.
I find them less scary - because it is an awful lot easier to detect radioactivity than it is chemical contamination. You get a geiger counter, you point and it goes click. Or click, click, click, click, click if there is a lot of radioactivity. Chemical contamination needs more complicated tests.
Also, in terms of chemical contamination - well some of the time protective suits would be a good idea. Breathing in chemically contaminated dust is never good for you.