Why the heck would you use metal for shielding when cheap plastic works way better? But anyway, the “shielding increases dose” is only true for a small portion

Why the heck would you use metal for shielding when cheap plastic works way better? But anyway, the “shielding increases dose” is only true for a small portion of the thickness curve at the very beginning. Vast majority of the time even metal shielding helps. “Space is hard” is kind of a low-effort mantra. Space radiation shielding really is one of those things that is extremely straightforward to address with mass. Polyethylene, or actually any hydrocarbon solid, works fantastic.