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Would being a witness to the first blast be a source of radiation? At the first test explosion of an atomic bomb, Feynman was the only scientist who eschewed p
by jamesbritt 13y ago
Would being a witness to the first blast be a source of radiation?
At the first test explosion of an atomic bomb, Feynman was the only scientist who eschewed protective goggles and watched the blast with unshielded eyes — he wanted to see the explosion clearly, and had researched the danger and confidently concluded that the risk to his vision was negligible.
http://www.nndb.com/people/584/000026506/ http://www.nndb.com/people/584/000026506/
- mikeash 13y agoNot very much, no. Were cancer rates among those witnesses much higher than in the general population? (Note that the goggles really do nothing when it comes to cancer, so that bit is irrelevant.) The immediate radiation dose from a nuclear explosion is generally low. It's the fallout that gets you, hours or days later. Even then, the risk is acute poisoning, not so much long-term cancer risk.
- fnordfnordfnord 13y agoIIRC, he sat behind a vehicle's windshield for the benefit of the UV protection it offered. But, no, remember, he died in 1988, more than 40 years later. What type of cancer takes 40 years to show up?