New radiation hazard to flights

• Autores: David Hambling
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3112, 2017, pág. 12
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Mystery radiation hotspots high up in the air could pose an unrecognized health hazard. Airliners may have to avoid these in future, just as they do with volcanic ash clouds, to minimize any risk to travelers and crew. High-altitude flight exposes people to cosmic rays: the radiation dose on a flight from London to Tokyo is roughly equivalent to a chest X-ray. Now research flights, made under the NASA-funded Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety program, have revealed the existence of zones where radiation levels can be double the usual level. In 265 flights, the radiation levels detected generally followed the expected pattern, but in at least six instances they surged, as though the aircraft was flying through a radiation cloud.