On Sat, 8 Jun 2002, Jinx wrote:

>> Speaking of 'unatural' phenomena - how much
>> incidental radiation impinges upon us from
>> natural sources and materials that contain
>> trace amounts of decaying isotopes ... as
>> well as 'cosmic rays' that occasionally
>> make their way our direction?
>>
>> Jim
>
>True - eg UV and radon. And who can say if the
>occassional head-on collision between a neutrino
>and DNA doesn't lead to all sorts of problems
>
>BTW, I heard that "did we go to the moon" debate
>again the other day. One side says that 6ft of lead
>shielding would be needed to get through the Van
>Allen Belt safely, the other side (NASA) says a tin
>can and space suits are sufficient. No figures were
>offered on either side to substantiate arguments,
>does anyone know ?

I am sure it was a hoax. I saw the place in the desert where they filmed
the fake footage. I swear. I won't tell where it is though.

Peter

PS: The Van Allen belt is a storage ring type of radiation source, when
you neglect the instant contribution from the sun and from space. You can
calculate the (maximum and minimum) energy of the particles trapped in it
from height and mass of the particles. It turns out that a tin can and
some mylar or gold foil should be enough, especially if you don't spend
hours on end inside it.

--
http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different
ways.  See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.