Atoms From Nuclear Explosions Are Embedded in Your Brain, But You’re Fine
Scientists are using past atomic explosions to learn about our brains, and it's completely changed how we think about aging. U.S. Nuclear Missiles Are Still Controlled By Floppy Disks -...
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Nuclear bombs are the most destructive weapons humanity has ever devised, but they have an unexpected upside. Thanks to their development and testing, they’ve contributed to some surprising advances in other scientific fields like neuroscience and climatology. You may wonder what neuroscience has to do with nuclear weapons, and to understand the connection, you need to know about carbon-14. Usually carbon has an atomic mass of 12; 6 protons and 6 neutrons. But on occasion, neutrons energized by cosmic rays from our sun will collide with nitrogen atoms in our atmosphere, knocking a proton off the atom and converting nitrogen into carbon with two extra neutrons, AKA Carbon-14 Unlike its 6 neutron cousin, carbon-14 is radioactive, with a half-life of about 5,700...
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Nuclear bombs are the most destructive weapons humanity has ever devised, but they have an unexpected upside. Thanks to their development and testing, they’ve contributed to some surprising advances in other scientific fields like neuroscience and climatology. You may wonder what neuroscience has to do with nuclear weapons, and to understand the connection, you need to know about carbon-14. Usually carbon has an atomic mass of 12; 6 protons and 6 neutrons. But on occasion, neutrons energized by cosmic rays from our sun will collide with nitrogen atoms in our atmosphere, knocking a proton off the atom and converting nitrogen into carbon with two extra neutrons, AKA Carbon-14 Unlike its 6 neutron cousin, carbon-14 is radioactive, with a half-life of about 5,700...
