Been on a paranormal kick but not necessary a believer, wondering how objects become radioactive that aren’t usually (like the hikers clothes at Dyotlov pass) I understand why they are considered radioactive (atoms with access energy?) but do we know why they suddenly are or is it a mystery in and of itself?
In: Chemistry
Others have addressed how radioactivity works. As for Dyatlov pass specifically.
Thorium is a radioactive element that was used in lanterns for the better part of a century, including the one that was used by the campers (per national geographic). Its entirely possible the lantern broke and left trace amounts of material on there clothes. In the event of an actual radiological event like has been proposed (bomb testing for example; the event took place during the cold war in the wilderness where the soviet union was known to do testing,) they would have all had dust on them not just one of them.
In truth, the most likely scenario goes something like this. A group of campers go out for a hike in the mountains. An avalanche occurred during the night crushing the tent. They cut themselves out, dragging the injured with them. They died as a result of a combination of there injuries and hypothermia. There state of undress is common in hypothermia; your brain starts to shut down and your body starts to feel warm resulting in paradoxical undressing. The lantern was crushed by the avalanche and was next to one of them who got trace amounts of material on them. Animals got to there bodies and ate parts of them. This is best explanation we have based on modern surveys which have given much more credence to the avalanche theory.
What happened was a tragedy; not ghosts or soviet sonic weapons testing or something.
Latest Answers