HBO’s Chernobyl-related question. There are radioactive elements in nature. They are unstable and thus constantly radiating particles. But what exactly happens when those particles hit non-radioactive object like human body or whatever else? Isn’t they supposed to interact with it somehow and then fly away instantly? Why and how, instead, objects can harvest those particles, keep them and then re-radiate them over long period of time, and, thus, become radioactive?
In: Physics
The objects do not become radioactive. They get radioactive material on them, which continues being radioactive. When there’s a meltdown, the nuclear fuel itself gets spread over everything in fine particulate form or as a gas or liquid, and then sits there still being radioactive.
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