4 ms·
No, it's all about bit errors and error correction. Highly concentrated radiation is more likely to cause multiple errors to a particular DNA strand, which can
by seanc 16y ago
No, it's all about bit errors and error correction. Highly concentrated radiation is more likely to cause multiple errors to a particular DNA strand, which can defeat the error correction and cause a mutation.
The same radiation distributed through the body will cause fewer errors per strand and be corrected.
- yummyfajitas 16y agoIt's been a long time since I studied dosimetry, but I was under the impression this was only significant at high doses. Do you have evidence otherwise?
- kayhi 16y agoThe key issue is the actual wavelength being used. I have yet to see this number published. If you knew the wavelength of the X-ray then you could attain a good estimate of the radiation dose. It is well established that X-rays cause protein damage (in vitro) at 1-1.5 Angstroms which is certainly smaller than what is being used in the is case. The wavelength at which radiation damage does not occur would be interesting to determine.