cosmic rays

nothing to do with marijuana in this thread, unfortunately.

this topic struck interest in me the moment i heard it. it's a theory that invisible cosmic rays that come from outer space come down to Earth, where they are inhaled by human beings, World wide.

the astronomers believe that these cosmic rays have the ability to destroy chromosomes in the dna strand...thus, altering the persons dna.

suddenly this thought of being able to produce cosmic rays clouded my head. what if, we could find someway to produce them. do you have any idea what you could do with them?

you could destroy inheriatble diseases through generations, such as cancer, diabetes, etc.

the thought of even becoming a super human wouldn't be far fetched if we could produce them.

anyone like to shed some light on this?

Cosmic rays are very high-energy charged particles, and are believed to be primarily remnants of the Big Bang. They move at nearly the speed of light and carry enough energy to smash molecules to pieces. We currently do not possess the technology to produce charged particle bursts with similar energy levels - it would take a particle accelerator the size of the Earth to do it. Even if we could, we probably wouldn't want to, except under very carefully controlled conditions. There would be no way to control the effects on biological systems, and the potential for doing more harm than good is clearly present. It would be like trying to adjust the contrast on your TV by firing cannonballs at the controls. Imagine the energy of a bullet concentrated into a space the size of a proton. That's a typical cosmic ray.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ganj

you could destroy inheriatble diseases through generations, such as cancer, diabetes, etc.

---

but can it get ya high? haha sorry im just wondering...try anything once

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Killa.Kali

but can it get ya high? haha sorry im just wondering...try anything once

---

Yes, where are the IMPORTANT answers here??? LOL

Beebs...you continue to amaze me with your knowledge about....well, everything! LOL My knowledge mainly consists of useless trivia,
so please take this as a compliment!

haha...thanks for the information. i thought the idea sounded too good to be possible.

No need to produce them when cosmic rays are everywhere already - if one wants extra exposure, book lots of airline flights, especially those travelling near the poles, with as many connections as possible to maximize flight time; earn more frequent flyer miles.

Computers (and devices containing them) are increasingly effected by cosmic rays as they get faster / circuits get smaller and smaller - fortunately, the effects (often random bit flips) are nearly always transparant to the user who never notices anything amiss; most folks are used to their computer locking up / misbehaving once in awhile for seemingly mysterious reasons already.

On a related topic, there many studies / experiences that suggest very limited exposure to various toxins, including radiation (I think that's the idea you may be getting at in regards to cosmic rays), etc may actually be healthy; "hormesis" - google for more information.

Ron

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Beeblebrox.420

Cosmic rays are very high-energy charged particles, and are believed to be primarily remnants of the Big Bang. They move at nearly the speed of light and carry enough energy to smash molecules to pieces. We currently do not possess the technology to produce charged particle bursts with similar energy levels - it would take a particle accelerator the size of the Earth to do it. Even if we could, we probably wouldn't want to, except under very carefully controlled conditions. There would be no way to control the effects on biological systems, and the potential for doing more harm than good is clearly present. It would be like trying to adjust the contrast on your TV by firing cannonballs at the controls. Imagine the energy of a bullet concentrated into a space the size of a proton. That's a typical cosmic ray.

---

hahaha i just pictured that and that is hilarous. lol

There's not a huge amount of evidence that the hormesis hypothesis is correct, but there is some, yes. Nevertheless, even in the absence of a benefit to the individual, there is little doubt that low levels of radiation, called background radiation, are a large part of the very driving force of evolution itself. Organisms have evolved a large number of defenses against low-level radiation, such as the ability to repair DNA, but still ionizing radiation induces mutations from time to time, and if these mutations prove beneficial to the organism in some way, it may have some slight reproductive advantage over other organisms. In this way, evolution slowly progresses and new species arise. In a very real sense we owe our existence to radiation, including the incessant bombardment of cosmic rays.

what kind of radiation do cosmic rays emit?

Cosmic rays are made up of any number of different charged particles, from electrons to light atomic nuclei. When they impact another atom or molecule, they can emit nearly any sort of radiation, including fast neutrinos, and gamma rays.

lol there is no way u can know so much about everything beeble some of this has to be b.s.

does it just depend on what it interacts with?

Yep. Also the energy of the interaction, which is fundamentally related to the mass and velocity of the cosmic ray particle.

cosmic rays are produced by gamma rays. they lose a lot of there potential because of all the other conditions they have to pass through, correct? i saw a show on this and it informed me but, i'm forgetful.

you have any sources that can prove useful to an aspiring astronomer?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by koshea

lol there is no way u can know so much about everything beeble some of this has to be b.s.

---

Don't take my word for it. Here are a few articles on the subject:

http://www.physics.adelaide.edu.au/a...cs/cr_new.html
http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel...cos_encyc.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_ray

that free encyclopedia will prove very useful to me. many thanks, beeblebrox 420.

Evolution isnt entirely due to cosmic rays. It occurs naturally. I think the cosmic radiation speeds evolution up as it alters the DNA structure more drastically than natural evolution.

When you turn on your tv and see that black and white buzzy crap, is that caused by cosmic rays (big bang radiation)? while we are on the topic :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rarrr

Evolution isnt entirely due to cosmic rays.

---

I know. I said that. I said background radiation (not just cosmic rays, but also natural radioactive decay) is responsible for a large part of the naturally-occurring mutations that drive evolution. Some also occur due to DNA transcription errors and other reproductive variables.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rarrr

When you turn on your tv and see that black and white buzzy crap, is that caused by cosmic rays (big bang radiation)?

---

Actually, some of it is. If you turn the brightness and contrast all the way down, you'll still occasionally see bright speckles. About 1% or so of those are due to cosmic rays, IIRC. You can't tell which ones, though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Killa.Kali

but can it get ya high? haha sorry im just wondering...try anything once

---

Oh shit! That is so funny *drops joint laughing* Hehehehehehehe! :p

wow, i thought i was the only person who watched the science channel

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jadeius

wow, i thought i was the only person who watched the science channel

---

You'd probably like Brian Green's books. I highly recommend The Elegant Universe. It explains superstring and M-theory in clear layman's terms with no difficult mathematical concepts (those are squirreled away in the appendices.)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jadeius

wow, i thought i was the only person who watched the science channel

---

ha...i tune in from time to time. kinda wish i had more time to sit down and be fascinated by the marvels of science but, unfortunately i don't.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ganj

ha...i tune in from time to time. kinda wish i had more time to sit down and be fascinated by the marvels of science but, unfortunately i don't.

---

just watch on tuesday nights at 8:00 or basically any time early wednesday for the stuff that's related to this thread...i almost never miss it...just get stoned and watch shit about the cosmos, it's too amazing

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Beeblebrox.420

You'd probably like Brian Green's books. I highly recommend The Elegant Universe. It explains superstring and M-theory in clear layman's terms with no difficult mathematical concepts (those are squirreled away in the appendices.)

---

thanks much, i'll definitely look into it...so it's the total opposite of Hawking's writing style huh? lol you have to be greek to understand that guy

yeah i've been amazed by this kinda stuff for a while, ever since i took a physics class...but after learning so much about astronomy, i think i've made a mistake being in school 3 years so far to learn about mechanical engineering...if i had the patience and wasn't so ready to be done with school, i'd turn all around and be an astronomer