NATS-101
Introduction to Global Change
Writing Project by
Stewart Dent
POSITION ADVOCATED: Gamma rays are good
Positives (Favor my advocacy):
Nuclear explosions might end wars or battles.
The threat of nuclear explosions is deterrent to others possessing nuclear weapons.
Nuclear explosions might be used for engineering purposes, eg, excavation.
Gamma radiation:
Naturally emitted from soil minerals (including radon) and from background cosmic radiation
Can kill pathogens
Has been proposed to treat food in order to kill pathogens in imported food or treat food as it leaves processing factories (eg, it will kill salmonella)
Neutron radiation has more penetrating power than gamma radiation
At Earths surface, 100km of atmosphere does help protect us
Radiation is a natural part of Earths environment (of typical exposure by an individual, about 1/7 is from artificial sources and 6/7 from natural sources):
11% from radioactive elements in our body (40K and 14C)
8% from rocks and soils
55% from radon in indoor air
Balance from cosmic rays
Seeds treated with gamma radiation were found to have increased germination rates, drought tolerance, and growth under low light intensities
Negatives (against my advocacy):
Nuclear explosions tend to be highly destructive to people and property
Nuclear explosions would breakdown the society of those people remaining
Nuclear explosions would interrupt communication and cause electronic devices to stop working at least temporarily, including autos, planes, telecommunication, power grids, hospital
power, etc.
Nuclear explosions emit alpha, beta, gamma and neutron radiation
Gamma radiation:
Is very short wavelength, ionizing radiation emitted from atomic nuclei, and can penetrate skin and organs
Can cause burns and cellular damage
Produces increased risk of cancer
Food irradiation might break down some vitamins
People are afraid of the concept of irradiation of food
Pilots and flight attendants exposed to more radiation than the average citizen (gamma illness)
Gamma Radiation-
As Innocuous as A, B, G
by Stewart Dent,
Nats-101
On casual inspection, most people might be concerned about the consequences of nuclear explosions on the surface of our planet. Indeed, there may be some minor adversities associated with such events, but these can be exploited to strengthen our moral fiber as we overcome them. The positive aspects of such events, however, such as release of gamma radiation, are simply not being widely publicized, perhaps even shrouded in a conspiracy to prevent inquiring minds from knowing.
Gamma radiation is emitted from the nuclei of radioactive elements in the Earth and is (contd) .
Fluxes of gamma radiation above background levels have been demonstrated to produce beneficial consequences. For example, the viability of seeds and the drought resistance of seedlings have been found to increase after gamma irradiation (Roberts and Weese, 1965) (contd)
[2-double-space pages]
REFERENCES (Consulted and Cited)
Global Deactivation or Radiation Corp. (GDR), 2001. Gamma
Illness- gamma radiation from airlines and space missions, (no author),
accessed
Health Physics Society, 2004. Radiation basics. (no author),
accessed
Roberts, W.T. and J. O. Weese. 1998. Gamma Radiation Effect
on Vitamin B6 Content in Ground Beef
Patties.
(contd) .
SEPARATE PAGE (to allow separate
grading of this last part and previous parts)
Flaws and weaknesses of my advocacy
Stewart Dent, Nats101
I made several exaggerations in favor of my advocacy, and I ignored or minimized some negative aspects of gamma rays. For example, I said there would be some minor adversity associated with a nuclear war, but clearly such an event would impose tremendous hardship on tens of millions of survivors even if they were not directly affected by the blasts. When I said gamma rays are simply another form of electromagnetic radiation, I minimized their danger. Because they are very short wavelength radiation, they are highly energetic, penetrating, and ionizing radiation compared to other forms of EM radiation with longer wavelengths such as visible light. I think my most egregious spin was my assertion related to the constant background level of gamma radiation from Earth and space, and the possibility that we have evolved in response to it to minimize its impacts. I went overboard when I then stated that because of this we are immunized against any harmful effects of gamma radiation and could probably work nude in a factory irradiating food with gamma radiation with no ill effects. This would actually be very dangerous.