• Question: if you split atoms in a unprotected enviroment what will happen??

    Asked by peanut99 to Louisa, Heather, Ben, Andrew on 23 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Heather McKee

      Heather McKee answered on 23 Jun 2010:

      Eep! i dunno, Lousia is your woman for the job on this one!!if you’ve got any bio, psych or health questions gimme a shout peanut!!

    • Photo: Andrew McKinley

      Andrew McKinley answered on 23 Jun 2010:

      If you split a single atom in an unprotected envronment, not a lot will happen. If you split 5 atoms in an unprotected environment, again, not a lot will happen. When you split a lot of atoms (and I mean a *lot*! 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms or so) in a small space, then they will release a lot amount of energy and will become dangerous. This is how a nuclear bomb works. I think Ben might be able to give you a better answer to this one!

    • Photo: Ben Still

      Ben Still answered on 23 Jun 2010:

      You need lots of energy to split the atom. This massive energy turns into many many particles. If you were stood close to this then these particles would cause nasty damage to humans. It would ionise particles making up the cells and even the DNA in your body. This could lead to radiation poisoning, serious burns and/or cancer.

      The energy of these particles disappears quickly as they pass through matter. This is why the Large Hadron Collider is buried under the ground in Geneva.

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