Eli5: How and why is uranium bad / deadly for the human body?
In: 40
So, for a real ELI5-style answer, it’s kind of like this: why is the barrel of a rifle dangerous? Well, it’s not, unless I hit you with it, but if I put in the work to assemble the rest of the weapon, load it, lock it, and point it in the right direction, now it’s quite dangerous. That’s enrichment, basically; we take something relatively innocent and make it relatively deadly. Similar idea for the decay chain. Elements undergo alpha and beta decay which can actually turn them into different (and far less stable and safe) elements. This is not a fast process, but when it does occur or is catalyzed, the results are no joke. This is kind of like asking why a rifle in a gun safe is dangerous. Well, it’s not….until you open the safe. Decay chains open the safe.
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