Strange Glow The Story of Radiation

Strange Glow: The Story of Radiation

More than ever before, radiation is a part of our modern daily lives We own radiation-emitting phones, regularly get diagnostic x-rays, such as mammograms, and submit to full-body security scans at airports We worry and debate about the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the safety of nuclear power plants But how much do we really know about radiation? And what are its actual dangers? An accessible blend of narrative history and science, Strange Glow describes mankind’s extraordinary, thorny relationship with radiation, including the hard-won lessons of how radiation helps and harms our health Timothy Jorgensen explores how our knowledge of and experiences with radiation in the last century can lead us to smarter personal decisions about radiation exposures today

Jorgensen introduces key figures in the story of radiation-from Wilhelm Roentgen, the discoverer of x-rays, and pioneering radioactivity researchers Marie and Pierre Curie, to Thomas Edison and the victims of the recent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident Tracing the most important events in the evolution of radiation, Jorgensen explains exactly what radiation is, how it produces certain health consequences, and how we can protect ourselves from harm He also considers a range of practical scenarios such as the risks of radon in our basements, radiation levels in the fish we eat, questions about cell-phone use, and radiation’s link to cancer Jorgensen empowers us to make informed choices while offering a clearer understanding of broader societal issues

Investigating radiation’s benefits and risks, Strange Glow takes a remarkable look at how, for better or worse, radiation has transformed our society

We do not store files and block access to them upon the first request from copyright holders.

All content posted on the site represents material that is freely available for viewing and downloading on the Internet. The collection of materials available on the Internet and their placement in the catalog is done automatically. In this case, the site administration does not exercise control over the added content.

The site administration also does not engage in activities related to the publication of unlicensed content, illegally stolen, and protected by copyright holders. The automated system only publishes links to material freely available from open sources.

The resource is always open to cooperation with copyright holders. If your exclusive rights to copyrighted objects are violated in any way using this resource (posting copyright-protected information), the administration is ready to assist you and remove/block the appropriate materials from the site.