Ionizing Radiation
What Ionizing Radiation Can Do to the Human Body
Ionizing radiation is basically high-energy radiation that can remove electrons from atoms, causing DNA damage, cell mutations, and even cell death. Depending on the dose, it can cause anything from minor cellular damage (which your body can repair) to severe radiation sickness and cancer. Here's a breakdown of what happens at different exposure levels:
- Low doses (under 100 mSv): Increased cancer risk, but usually no immediate symptoms.
- Moderate doses (100–500 mSv): Potential short-term symptoms like nausea, but not lethal.
- High doses (500–1,000 mSv): Radiation sickness, immune suppression, possible sterility.
- Very high doses (1,000–5,000 mSv): Severe radiation sickness, internal bleeding, organ failure.
- Extreme doses (5,000+ mSv): Almost certainly fatal without immediate medical intervention.
Comparison Table: Radiation Doses vs. The Demon Core Incident
The Demon Core incident refers to two separate criticality accidents (in 1945 and 1946) involving a plutonium core that went supercritical, blasting people with deadly amounts of neutron radiation. Let's compare it to other common radiation doses:
| Dose (mSv) | Exposure Source | Effects on Human Body | Comparison to Demon Core |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 mSv | Single chest X-ray | Negligible effect, safe | Trivial in comparison |
| 2 mSv/year | Average background radiation (US) | No immediate harm, slightly higher cancer risk | Insignificant |
| 10 mSv | Full-body CT scan | Very low risk, slight DNA damage | Nothing compared to Demon Core |
| 100 mSv | Threshold where cancer risk increases slightly | DNA damage, cell mutations | Still way below Demon Core |
| 400 mSv | Dose for workers at Chernobyl reactor (during meltdown) | Radiation sickness possible | 1/15 of a Demon Core accident |
| 1,000 mSv (1 Sv) | High-dose radiation area, lethal over time | Severe radiation sickness | 1/6 of a Demon Core blast |
| 5,000 mSv (5 Sv) | Lethal dose if untreated | Almost certainly fatal within weeks | About equal to one Demon Core incident |
| 10,000 mSv (10 Sv) | Near-instant death | Fatal within days, severe tissue destruction | Double a Demon Core dose |
| 21,000 mSv (21 Sv) | Louis Slotin’s exposure in 1946 | Fatal within 9 days due to acute radiation syndrome | Direct Demon Core incident |
Louis Slotin, the physicist who triggered the 1946 Demon Core incident, was blasted with 21 Sv (21,000 mSv) of neutron radiation. He survived for nine days before dying from extreme radiation poisoning, suffering from nausea, vomiting, severe burns, and organ failure.
TL;DR: The Demon Core blast was like standing next to a plutonium nuke test without the explosion. If you were hit by one, your DNA would get absolutely scrambled, and you'd be dead in days.
