People have it. Lots of people have it about radioactivity, which is my personal pet peeve. As a kid, my mom used to store test samples of radioactive iodine in our fridge. THese days, I hear almost everyone talk about radiation as if it would sneak up on you and infect you like a virus, or if you were exposed to it, you'd be radioactive.
Of course, that's all untrue. But the fear is still there. I'm reminded of the hullabaloo over NASA's use of the Cassini probe because it had a Radio Thermal Generator using < GASP > plutonium as a heat source. These RTG's have been slammed into the ground at high velocity from thousands of feet up with no serious damage or danger. They're safe. In fact, more radiation is released into the atmosphere by volcanoes every year than by this sort of device.
But people were still scared. Because it was radiation. And radiation is scary. You can explain it seven ways from sunday, but people will still be scared. Because they were trained to be scared.
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It's an irrational fear thing
Date: 2002-04-11 10:38 am (UTC)Of course, that's all untrue. But the fear is still there. I'm reminded of the hullabaloo over NASA's use of the Cassini probe because it had a Radio Thermal Generator using < GASP > plutonium as a heat source. These RTG's have been slammed into the ground at high velocity from thousands of feet up with no serious damage or danger. They're safe. In fact, more radiation is released into the atmosphere by volcanoes every year than by this sort of device.
But people were still scared. Because it was radiation. And radiation is scary. You can explain it seven ways from sunday, but people will still be scared. Because they were trained to be scared.