Can radiation be felt? If I pick up a tube containing radioactive material, would I feel the radiation coming off it in any way, or would it feel just like a regular metal tube?
In: Chemistry
Yes you can feel radiation, go out in the sun and you see and feel the radiation from it that is tranferd to you body. You can hear radiation from speakers and feel it if it is powerdull enough. The radiation from a earthquake can cleary be felt.
Radiation is just emission of energy as particle or waves, the light that hit you eyes from the screen you read this on is radiation. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation)
The ionizing radiation release from radioactive decay can be felt if the power is high enough so it heat up you body. The is very large amount of radiation and it will at best just hurt you skin or at worst kill you.
Indiviual particle of alpha, beta and gamma radiation is not something you body can usuay detect. You are likely being hit by it right now. You own body will contain radioactive elemrn and release ionizing radiation ot a small degree. Potassium-40 for example make up 0.012% of all protasium in nature. You body contain around 140grams of potassium so you contain around 0.017 gram of Potassium-40. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose)
It is possible to detect individual particle of ionizing radiation. Cosmic rays can produce visible light in you eye. It is not very likely down hear on earth but realtivy common in earth orbit [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_ray_visual_phenomena](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_ray_visual_phenomena)
Somting similar was expsience by a man tha by misstke put his hed in beam of a particle generator Reportedly, he saw a flash “brighter than a thousand suns” but did not feel any pain [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoli_Bugorski](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoli_Bugorski)
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