Apollo 11: 40 Years

[supmet]

Originally Posted by camelll

I really don't care if we went or not, if we did not I understand why we did what we did. The only thing that gets me is how did they not die from radiation poisoning?

OMGWTFVANALLENBELTBBQ

[yaris-me]

Originally Posted by camelll

I really don't care if we went or not, if we did not I understand why we did what we did. The only thing that gets me is how did they not die from radiation poisoning?

Your modern existence maybe quite different without America's commitment to go to the moon. There was advances in technology that may not have occurred or may have come much later: electronic miniaturization, computers, space age metals, fire suppression and yes, space ice cream.

[scape]

http://wechoosethemoon.org/

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by camelll

"A satellite shielded by 3 mm of aluminium in an elliptic orbit passing through the radiation belt will receive about 2,500 rem (25 Sv) per year. Almost all radiation will be received while passing the inner belt."

"A dose of under 100 rems is subclinical and will produce nothing other than blood changes. 100 to 200 rems will cause illness but will rarely be fatal. Doses of 200 to 1000 rems will likely cause serious illness with poor outlook at the upper end of the range. Doses of more than 1000 rems are almost invariably fatal"

OMGWTFVANALLENBELTBBQ is correct.

How long do you think those guys were in the Van Allen belt? They were booking at Earth escape velocity, about 25000 miles an hour. Their vector was not in an elliptical orbit but in a wide curve that approximated a straight line towards the Moon. Let's assume that they were in both belts a total of three hours up and down total. That's reasonable when you figure that the belts at their thickest points are about 9,000 miles.

The outer Van Allen belt's thickness varies between 3,600 miles and 6,000 miles, the inner at about 3,000 miles. Their altitude is about 500 miles to about 10,000 miles high. BTW, 500 miles is damned high for an orbit - most manned flight is in Low Earth Orbit, which is about 200 miles high at most. See http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/as...s/970630a.html


We're talking exposure from about an hour to a couple of hours at most. This is versus a good chunk of a year for that poor Satellite (which is Rad Hardened, something we can't yet do with people).

Let's assume a satellite has hard exposure for three months out of the year, which is a generous low figure. The difference between three months (roughly 2160 hours) versus two or three hours is about one thousand to one. The Satellite gets 2,500 REMs per year (in this case I"m saying with three months up and down through the belts).

The astronauts at the same rates get 2.5 rems.... Most of us probably get more radiation damage to our skin from sunshine over several summers.

Gene

[Altitude]

Originally Posted by camelll

Like I said before I don't care if we went or not. Never claimed to be a scientist or radiation specialists, but I did learn about the van allen radiation belt and the other forms of radiation in space in science class. Small schools FTW.

You believe there is no radiation in space?

I see. So the level of education you received regarding cosmic radiation in science class is sufficient enough to have qualified you to work for NASA and indeed to be considered one of the foremost authorities on the subject? Impressive to say the least. Wow, I have a few questions for you.

How long must someone remain within the Van Allen belts to receive a lethal dose of radiation? Does the equation take into consideration the natural fluctuations of said radiation? For example, how long one could safely remain there during nominal and peak periods of cosmic and solar radiation?

[Altitude]

Originally Posted by camelll

Damn altitude you seem to have a vested interest in this or I hit a sore spot with you, are you related to someone who claimed to have walked on the moon?

Not at all. I'm not the one questioning the historical event you (and a few others) are. I would think you'd want to know those answers yourself as opposed to just simply saying "Hmmm... there's radiation surrounding the planet - radiation is dangerous - therefore we never went to the moon" - which is exactly what you and others do when you buy into the crap of those whacked out conspiracists.

Sorry if it seemed like I was picking on you because I'm not... unless you start asking for Obama's birth certificate, then it's on!

Thankfully, GeneW has already provided the reasons why this is a *ridiculous* argument so I don't need to.

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by camelll

radiation is dangerous.

Some radiation is dangerous, but small amounts are harmless. There are areas of India rich in Monazite (thorium ore). Turns out that there isn't much of a difference for those who live in such areas... http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/set...2400111700.htm

They don't get more cancer or birth defects than people who live in "low radiation" areas.

There is this thing called "Threshold effects".

Two good examples of this are water and selenium.

If a person doesn't have enough water, or a reasonable substitute, they die of thirst. Too much water and they drown.

An absence of Selenium causes deficiency problems. Too much selenium in the diet is intensely poisonous.

For this reason some US laws, especially those which forbid "cancer causing substances in food, drink or drugs in ANY amounts" are asinine non-sense.

BTW, Camell, we try to keep political discussions off of this area.

Gene