eli5 why does riding in an airplane cause radiation exposure? Does the airplane itself not block it?

Question

eli5 why does riding in an airplane cause radiation exposure? Does the airplane itself not block it?

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Answer 1

The skin of the plane does block some radiation. If you’re talking about the amount of material between you and space, The increase in altitude removes more of that barrier than the skin of the plane adds. To give an idea, the mass of air directly above a point at sea level is equivalent to the mass of a 12 foot column of solid aluminum. At cruising altitude, you are above most of the mass of the atmosphere and have only added a few centimeters of plastic and aluminum from the plane.