Can you get superpowers from gamma radiation? Can an open microwave door harm you? Do cell phones give you cancer? Does wearing aluminum foil on your head really protect you from alien signals? Could a gamma-ray burst truly destroy Earth?

In this episode, Jocelyn and Bradley discuss these and other misconceptions that seem to radiate from the word “radiation.” We are surrounded by radiation, much of which you can't see, and most of which is not dangerous. With wit and humor, the hosts sort out the meanings and myths of radiation in terms of health, safety, history, and Hollywood. They surf the electromagnetic spectrum, discuss common radioactive isotopes, and explain the differences between particle and ionizing radiation. And they decide once and for all whether a gamma-ray spider bite can give you superpowers.

Links

Electromagnetic Spectrum: https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/emspectrum1.html

General Information on Radiation & Radioactivity:
https://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/faqs/radiationtypes.html#
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/nonionizing_radiation.html
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/cell_phones._faq.html

Radiation effects on biological systems: http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/45/4/259.full.pdf+html

Radioactive Wolves:
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/radioactive-wolves-full-episode/7190/

Dose effects:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorbed_dose

Radium Girls:
https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/radium-girls
https://www.amazon.com/Radium-Girls-Story-Americas-Shining/dp/1492650951/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=radium+girls&qid=1576168224&sr=8-1
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/poisoners/

Gamma-ray bursts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3IDJFmD9Ss#action=share
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/how-two-gamma-ray-bursts-created-record-breaking-high-energy-photons
https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/how-deadly-would-a-nearby-gamma-ray-burst-be/

Scale:
https://htwins.net/scale2/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaGEjrADGPA


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Science! With Friends Podcast is created and hosted by Jocelyn Bosley (@SciTalker) and Bradley Nordell (@bradleynordell) and...