Best way to counter radiation scare

[WestAir]

I offer you to choose between 1 GJ of non-ionizing microwave radiation or a single alpha particle hitting you. Hint: one of them kills you despite not being ionizing.

Furthermore, even at the same energy levels, some radiations are more dangerous than others. Please use science and factss, not ridiculing by being in no way more informed.

Let's be absolutely clear here: 1GJ of Microwave radiation will burn you, set you on fire, and kill you through thermal effects. 1 GJ of Gamma radiation will tear you apart.

The argument becomes mute at that point, because we're no longer talking about the invisible effects of radiation (I.E, cancer risk). Non-ionizing radiation at the levels used in commercial products do not set you on fire. They also don't knock atoms out of your molecules and give you cancer. Ionizing radiation however, like those from medical x-rays, can.

This isn't a discussion of apples and oranges, it's bananas and laptops. Ionizing radiation is certainly more dangerous than non-ionizing radiation, and for you to suggest otherwise because 1 GJ of microwaves will kill you is to overlook the point here.

[SuperFastJellyfish]

The argument becomes mute at that point...

I agree with the rest of your post, but the word you are looking for is 'moot'.

[Alchemist]

Fun thing about radioactivity: 1 g of U-238 is just several times more active than total radiocarbon in human body. Without sustained fission U-235 is just about 5 times more active that U-238, so that the activity of natural isotopic composition is barely higher than of pure U-238. If you add equilibrium amount of natural decay products to the equation it goes up by an order of magnitude, but still not really high. And if you take in account penetration capability (which is not very high for charged particles), radiocarbon in your body might be more dangerous than a small piece of uranium in your hand. (And do you know that zinc uranyl acetate is pretty much a common analytical reagent?)

And here goes one thing that anti-radiation people always forget - natural radiation level. All life on our planet is pretty much resistant to what radiation is normally present around and even inside (C-14 and K-40 being the prime examples) and often can resist something by couple orders of magnitude higher without any problems. If one hit of ionizing radiation to DNA molecule was deadly, the life would go extinct long ago.

Somehow, radical reactions caused by naturally occurring UV levels can be much more dangerous than naturally occurring ionizing radiation levels (damn, I can't get normal tan, I get sunburn instead).

[running]

Looking at the chart....

Eating 1 banana... is 2 the dose of sleeping next to someone.

I don't eat banana's... hence I need to buy a bigger bed... right?

[lajoswinkler]

0. Laptops don't emit ionizing radiation.

Yes, they do. There is some carbon-14 inside.

[WestAir]

I agree with the rest of your post, but the word you are looking for is 'moot'.

Muchas gracias senor. My mistake.

Yes, they do. There is some carbon-14 inside.

Rofl. I stand corrected.

Edited March 14, 2014 by WestAir

[ZetaX]

Let's be absolutely clear here: 1GJ of Microwave radiation will burn you, set you on fire, and kill you through thermal effects. 1 GJ of Gamma radiation will tear you apart.

The argument becomes mute at that point, because we're no longer talking about the invisible effects of radiation (I.E, cancer risk). Non-ionizing radiation at the levels used in commercial products do not set you on fire. They also don't knock atoms out of your molecules and give you cancer. Ionizing radiation however, like those from medical x-rays, can.

This isn't a discussion of apples and oranges, it's bananas and laptops. Ionizing radiation is certainly more dangerous than non-ionizing radiation, and for you to suggest otherwise because 1 GJ of microwaves will kill you is to overlook the point here.

I think you didn't get my post at all.

[Alchemist]

Yes, they do. There is some carbon-14 inside.

If the plastics are mode from oil, they contain almost no C-14 compared to biospheric objects - the isorope doesn't live so long.

[lajoswinkler]

If the plastics are mode from oil, they contain almost no C-14 compared to biospheric objects - the isorope doesn't live so long.

True, but not all of them are made that way. There is certainly a measurable amount of C-14 inside a laptop, and I'm not talking about our flaked skin in the dust, but the device itself.

[mythic_fci]

Very true. My mom would always pull me away from microwave OVENs, computers and laptops. The last one was the funniest, cause she said I'd get CROTCH CANCER?! Wtf? From a LAPTOP?

[Sky_walker]

Very true. My mom would always pull me away from microwave OVENs, computers and laptops. The last one was the funniest, cause she said I'd get CROTCH CANCER?! Wtf? From a LAPTOP?

Don't know about cancer, but heating your balls is deadly to sperm.

Perhaps your mum just wanted to have a grandchildren.

[WestAir]

I think you didn't get my post at all.

Considering I was quoting someone else, and not you, that's probably an accurate statement.