# data[].attributes.body
During our everyday lives, we encounter many radioactive things. It's a common misconception that radiation is really bad for you, but in reality it is harmless in the amounts that we are exposed to. Some examples of radioactive things that we encounter can include living within 50 miles of a nuclear plant (0.09 microsieverts annually), getting a dental x-ray (5 microsierverts), and even eating bananas (0.1 microsieverts). I was surprised that something as simple as eating a banana will give off radiation, which I found out is due to the potassium levels in it. I was also surprised by the low amount of radiation from living nearby a nuclear plant is, as I would have expected it to be higher. Before viewing these sources, I believed that the level of radiation that it would take to cause health issues would be much lower, because of how it seems to be portrayed often times. Now I know that it takes an extreme amount of radiation to cause serious issues, and that it is not something to really be worried about.

Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08
https://www.epa.gov/radtown

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Throughout or daily lives, we are exposed to radiation. Often times, the we are exposed to harmless amounts of it. Some things to consider in our daily lives that expose us to radiation are our proximity to nuclear plants, our air plane travel, and simply eating bananas. Living within 50 miles of a nuclear plant exposes us to .09 microsieverts a year. Bananas, also contain 0.1 microsiverts due to the high potassium it contains. Traveling by planes exposes us to much more radiation than i initially expected. When taking into account security screenings, and the increase in radiation at cruising altitude, the radition we are exposed to is a lot, however still less than that of a chest x-ray. I was also suprised to learn about the background radiation, although it makes sense, it is still intresting how the average preson absorbs around 2-3k microsieverts annually from background radiation. Initially I was unaware of how present radioactivity is in our everyday lives, and how it could potentially affect us. But, now I find it fascinating how much we encounter radioactivity, and it is intresting to see how it transfers, and how it surrounds us.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRL7o2kPqw0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08

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Some things that have high amounts of radiation that we are exposed to in our everyday lives is plane flights, CT scans, and just living our everyday lives. Surprising information that i learned was that 1 hour of Marie curie's doorknob has 1.5 microseiverts. My perspective of radioactivity before viewing these documents was that it is a lot more rare than it actually is. I assumed it was hard to be exposed to radiation and i thought only certain objects produced radiation, but i learned that many objects produce radiation.

Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRL7o2kPqw0

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Some things in everyday life that are examples of radioactivity includes living within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant, eating a banana, and going on a plane. Living within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant produces 0.09 Sieverts a year. Both airport scanners and eating a banana produces 0.1 Sieverts. These are relatively low levels of radiation so it’s not very harmful to you. Some other items that contain radiation include ionization smoke detectors. These smoke detectors use a little bit of americium-241, a radioactive material, to detect if there is smoke. Microwaves are another example of an everyday item that uses radiation. This radiation isn’t ionized and never leaves the microwave because they are built to prevent any electromagnetic radiation from leaving the oven. Another example of radioactivity that people come in contact with every day is in public drinking water. There is radionuclides found in this water even though much of it is filtered out by water suppliers. Even though we come into contact with some radiation, these amounts are very small amounts compared to levels that can cause damage or death. While looking through these resources I found that it only causes nausea and vomiting once you get up to 1000000 Sieverts in a short time, which is very hard to get up to in your everyday life. This was interesting to me because I thought that any amount of radiation could harm you although it turns out it takes a lot more radiation to actually harm you.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08
https://www.epa.gov/radtown/explore-sources-radiation-neighborhood

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A nuclear weapon like atomic bombs work by suddenly releasing energy caused by splitting the nuclei of an element in the core of the bomb. The splitting of nuclei is called fission. Isotopes Uranium-235 and plutonium-239 constantly undergo fission and are used in atomic bombs. Fission is when a neutron hits a nucleus and splits it into fragments, releasing a lot of energy. A chain reaction occurs when neutrons split a nucleus, the fragments strike out and hit other nuclei, producing more fission. The United States should not use nuclear weapons because the usage of these can cause fallouts. When a nuclear weapon goes off it releases particles that are radioactive. Radioactive elements decay and shoot off high-energy particles that can damage your DNA and cause cancer. Atomic bombs and nuclear weapons can kill thousands of people and damage wildlife.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYJ-FiRWY0c
https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/science-behind-atom-bomb

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Specifically in nuclear power plants or stations, decay reactions are used to produce and generate electricity. This occurs through the radioactive decay of heavy elements into lighter elements. As explained in one of the videos I watched, heavy elements such as Uranium are overwhelmed or attacked with neutrons. These neutrons are then absorbed resulting in an unstable atom. Electricity is normally produced through this process when the atom immediately splits into more neutrons, quick-moving and compacted “lighter” or stable elements, and radiation energy. The decaying process continues and energy is released until the elements reach stabilization (isotopes). Additionally, in nuclear power stations, the radiation created and energy released is used to heat the water in the light water reactor and the neutrons continue to repeat the process in other atoms. This cycle repeats in a chain-like structure continually producing more energy using radioactive decay.

In my opinion, I think nuclear power is a source of energy that we should invest in. Some of the advantages of nuclear power include saving lives and according to NASA preventing about 1.8 million deaths, reducing the risk of lung and heart disease, reducing CO2 emissions, and providing us with new technologies. We must know the disadvantages in order to compare the two so some disadvantages of using nuclear power include the high amounts of nuclear waste and pollution released, the proliferation act, and the risk of accidents and disasters. I think it is more intelligent to use nuclear power rather than to not use it because although it produces high amounts of waste, the resources for energy we currently use do that as well. Coal, oil, natural gas, and other energy sources already negatively impact our environment, so using nuclear energy would be the smarter choice because there are many ways it can save our lives. By reducing the number of fossil fuels burned, toxins released, etc. we are saving more lives than harming. Lastly, nuclear power can be dangerous and there are many risks for accidents and disasters, but those are risks. All sources of energy have risks and we must not rely on the possibility for harm to decide whether we use energy that can change the world.

Sources used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcOFV4y5z8c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVbLlnmxIbY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEYbgyL5n1g

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In our daily lives, we are exposed to radioactivity more than we thought we were. For example a banana is high in potassium so it has a very small amount of radioactivity in it but there certainly is some. Another example is when on the plain and when the plane escalates so do the severts per hour. One more example  is getting x-rays done like a dental x-ray. I found it surprising that radioactivity still remains in places where the event happened many many years ago. For example in Hiroshima, there are still remains of radioactivity from the nuclear bomb. I didn't know radioactivity was everywhere in our daily lives. After watching a couple of these videos I have learned that radioactivity is more common than I thought.

Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRL7o2kPqw0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08

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As humans, there are many ways we come into contact with radioactivity throughout our day to day activities, most of which goes unrecognized by most. Actvities like eating food, specifically bananas can increase someones exposure to radioactivity, but only by a little bit. Other activities such as going through airport security, flying on a plane, and getting x-rays done can all be ways in which people come into contact with radioactivity. Where you live can also contribute, especially if you live near a nuclear power plant. The sun is also constantly radioactive as hydrogen atoms are ramming into eachother and fusing into helium atoms. The release of energy from this nuclear fusion helps power the sun which the earth and its inhabitants depend on. I found it suprising to see how often we may actually come into contact with some form of radioactivity. I never knew that by eating a banana, I was exposing myself to small amounts of radioactive substances. After learning about radioactivity, I realize just how much it is around us and impacts us in our life. 

Sources:
How does fusion power the sun?
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1ZQ4JBv3-Y)

How much radiation are you exposed to everyday?
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08)

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1) We are exposed to low levels of radion in our daily lives. One example is bananas who are high in potassium, so eating 1 banana is equal to about 0.1 microsieverts of radiation. Soil, rocks, air and space also add to iodizing radiation.  An airplne has a lot of radiation, especially as you gain altitude. Getting x-rays is high in radiation, so going to the dentists, breaking a bone, or going through airport security all increase our levels of radiation. I was surprised to find out that places where nuclear warfare has been used (ex:Hiroshima) are now very low in iodizing radiation. Even a place with a nuclear reactor meltdown have significantly decreased due to the moving of topsoil. It was also surprising to see the affects that smoking cigarettes had on a person amount of radiation. I was also surprised to learn that the timeline for dating a substance with carbon-14 was around 50,000 years. Lastly, I was unaware of how hard it was to get atoms to fuse together in nuclear fusion.
Previous to viewing these resources, I had no idea that radioactivity affected my everyday life so much. I did not know that I come into contact with radiation just by eating and breathing in the air. I had wrongly assumed that only nuclear zones, such as nuclear power plants would be exposed to radiation, and failed to realize how everyone is affected by radiation.
Sources:
The Most Radioactive Places on Earth
How Carbon Dating Works
How much radiation are you exposed to every day?

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1. Exposure to radioactivity is common for us because of the way we live our lives, for example when we go to the airport and go through the scanner and then get on a flight, we are exposed to radiation. We are also exposed to radiation when we get a CT scan or dental x-ray and even while eating a banana.
2. What surprises me the most is how often I am around radiation without even knowing it. For example, in an average house smoke detectors, microwave ovens, and even drinking water from private or public wells can all be sources of radiation. Also, I never would have guessed that people who smoke a pack and a half of cigarettes daily for a year are still exposed to more radiation than someone getting a CT scan.
3. Before learning from these resources, I had the impression that radiation was something that was only around in big dangerous quantities and only really affected people in medical or scientific professions. I now know that it is something we are exposed to in very small amounts of every day. I also learned about the specifics of it's usefulness in scientific fields like in paleontology where it helps to date fossils with radiometric dating, one example of which is Carbon dating.

Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08
https://www.epa.gov/radtown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcuz1JiMk9k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0-dFJRGsYk

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Radioactivity is apparent in everyday activities with small and large encounters. You encounter radioactivity in a wide range of things from eating a banana, walking through an airport scanner, or getting a CT at the hospital. I found it very fascinating that there are sources of radioactivity in our homes. Smoke detectors are a common example. If they are tampered with, or used wrong, they can cause danger to the people around them, and if they are not disposed of properly, those people as well. I also found the immediate effects of radioactivity very surprising. My original impression on  was that harmful effects were only experienced if you were exposed to a certain level for a prolonged period of time. But in reality, people who work around radioactive sites, or are exposed to a very very large amount of radioactivity, can experience the effects on the spot.

Sources~

https://www.epa.gov/radtown/americium-ionization-smoke-detectors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRL7o2kPqw0

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In our daily lives we are exposed to radiation constantly and we don't even realize it. An example of radiation that we are exposed to in our everyday lives is bananas. The potassium in the bananas is naturally radioactive and 1 banana contains about 0.1 microsieverts of radiation. Another examples of radiation in our daily lives are CT scans and x-rays. Those types of procedures expose us to relatively high levels of radiation. Airplanes are also another example radiation because as we get higher in altitude the radiation also increases. This is because as we get higher there is less atmosphere to block us from the cosmic rays. One thing that I found very surprising was that smokers receive such a high dose of radiation a year. They receive 160,000 microsieverts a year. I always knew smoking was bad for you because of all of the carcinogens and other toxins, but I never realized how much radiation was involved. Before watching these videos, I never knew how much radiation was around us everyday. We are exposed to so much of it without even realizing. Even though the amount is not nearly enough to kill us or harm us in any way, it's still amazing how we never realize how much there really is in our daily lives.

Sources:
The Most Radioactive Places on Earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRL7o2kPqw0

How Much Radiation Are You Exposed To Everyday?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08

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Three examples of radioactivity that we encounter in our lives are airport scanners, being within 50 miles of nuclear power plants, and eating bananas. Airport scanners use radiation when scanning a persons body. Radioactive material is what powers Nuclear power plants, so if you live within 50 miles of one, you can be exposed to the radiation. We encounter radiation when eating bananas because bananas have potassium which decays, causing it to be radioactive. I was most surprised by the fact that bananas give of radiation and that I am being exposed to it when I eat them.  I did not realize that food could also produce radiation, which shows how radiation is apart of many peoples everyday lives. Another plant that contains radiation is tobacco. Farmers use fertilizer that contains radioactive material which then transfers into the plant. Before viewing these resources, I did not know that radiation is so involved in our everyday lives. Not only does it come from nuclear power plants and airport scanners, but it is also in the food that we  eat everyday.
Sources:
https://www.epa.gov/radtown/radioactivity-tobacco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08

# data[].attributes.body
Three examples of radioactivity that we encounter in our lives are airport scanners, being within 50 miles of nuclear power plants, and eating bananas. Airport scanners use radiation when scanning a persons body. Radioactive material is what powers Nuclear power plants, so if you live within 50 miles of one, you can be exposed to the radiation. We encounter radiation when eating bananas because bananas have potassium which decays, causing it to be radioactive. I was most surprised by the fact that bananas give of radiation and that I am being exposed to it when I eat them.  I did not realize that food could also produce radiation, which shows how radiation is apart of many peoples everyday lives. Another plant that contains radiation is tobacco. Farmers use fertilizer that contains radioactive material which then transfers into the plant. Before viewing these resources, I did not know that radiation is so involved in our everyday lives. Not only does it come from nuclear power plants and airport scanners, but it is also in the food that we  eat everyday
Sources:
https://www.epa.gov/radtown/radioactivity-tobacco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08

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Examples of radioactivity in our daily lives include eating bananas, traveling on an airplane in high attitudes, airport scanners, living within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant, dental x-rays when you go to the dentist, our breathing releases carbon which is radioactive, and if you are a smoker or if you breathe in smoke since there is radioactive polonium and lead in the tobacco of the cigarettes. What surprised me the most is Carbon-14, a radioactive molecule in the atmosphere, has a half life of 5,730 years. In addition, we consume this Carbon-14 just by either eating plants ( plants absorbed the carbon from the atmosphere) or animals who consumed the plants. Also, I was amazed on how a smoker's lungs has more radioactivity than astronauts in space stations. Before viewing these videos about radioactive, I assumed only highly dangerous and deathly objects such as the nuclear power plant had radioactivity. By watching the videos, my perception was wrong as radioactivity can be in foods that we eat and in the air, but the amounts of radioactivity in them is small. Highly dangerous objects that produce thousands of mircosieverts are the ones that we should not go near without protection.
Video sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1ZQ4JBv3-Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcuz1JiMk9k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRL7o2kPqw0

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1. We encounter radioactivity in our everyday lives without realizing it. Something as simple as eating one banana is equivalent to 0.1 microsieverts. A flight from New York City to LA is about 40 microsieverts. A smoker who goes through 1.5 packs of cigarettes a day for about a year is equal to 13000 microsieverts.
2. I found it surprising that even though the amount might be little, we are exposed to radioactivity in many unexpected places. In our homes, microwaves and smoke detectors give off radiation. These are common objects in our house that just seem "normal". In schools, as simple as it is, the exit signs are also a source of radiation. The tritium in these signs are a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, and the signs' main purpose is to light up without the use of batteries or electricity.
3. I did not perceive radioactivity to be a big worry, but I learned that the accumulation of exposure to certain places/objects can threaten my own life. Multiple airplane flights and security checks, x-rays, ct scans, and smoking are just a few examples of how we daily encounter radioactivity. It is even more dangerous for workers in the radiation field, considering their exposure levels are probably much higher than those of a student's.

sources-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08

https://www.epa.gov/radtown

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The energy from atomic weapon comes from the splitting of the nucleus
of an atom. An important factor
is the chain reaction. A neuron
collides with another element,
and produces, a large amount of energy. In addition to this, and elements and protons are formed. The newly formed
neurons collide with other
atoms releasing more energy
and creating a chain reaction.
Nuclear weapons are very
deadly to the body. However, the most important thing is the dosage. Some of the side effects are cancer and birth defects. These effects are prolonged and can hurt the population years after the date of exposure. For example, the cancer rate in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is higher than the global average. I believe nuclear weapons should be outlawed because some of the bombs can wipe out massive areas. These bombs are capable of killing thousands of innocent people. These bombs would also kill the surrounding wild-life and mess up the environment for future generations.
Sources used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWWrzTwsLR4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwaA-dbVMW8

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Nuclear weapons work by bringing a radioactive substance to the critical mass, leading to a fission chain reaction that produces a large amount of energy, as neutrons are released and strike the nuclei of other atoms, releasing more neutrons and so on.
One way that criticality was achieved, with the U-235 bomb, was by firing one mass of uranium at another, which would create a critical mass, that set off a chain reaction. The other way that criticality was achieved was through the use of explosives to squeeze the plutonium, which would increase the density and allow it to reach the critical mass.
I personally think that the United States should not invest in nuclear weapons, because once a nuclear weapon is fired, it cannot be easily stopped. The amount of damage from a single nuclear weapon is also something that would best be avoided, from both the initial blast and the nuclear fallout. The nuclear explosion can damage areas of hundreds of square miles, and can kill more than hundreds of thousands of people. The other danger is nuclear fallout, which can get into the atmosphere, into plants and animals, and then get into the bodies of humans, causing cancer. Therefore, I believe that the US should never use nuclear weapons, because mutually assured destruction would mean catastrophic amounts of lives lost on both sides.

Sources used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwaA-dbVMW8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLRSmzGRLUk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYJ-FiRWY0c

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Some examples of radioactivity that we encounter in our lives is food. For example, bananas have radiation from potassium in the banana. When someone smokes cigarettes they are taking in a lot of radiation which can be dangerous after a long time. Even sleeping next to someone else increases your risk of being around radioactivity because of the air they are breathing out. What was surprising to me is that breathing in air is radioactive and being around other people exposes you to more radiation. There is no avoiding radioactivity in our everyday lives. Before viewing these resources, my perception of radioactivity was that it was only in x rays and cancer treatments, and that radiation is very dangerous. Now I see that radioactivity in small amounts isn’t dangerous and we encounter it in our everyday lives.

Sources used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRL7o2kPqw0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08

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Three examples of radioactivity that we encounter in our daily lives are dental x-rays, being scanned at an airport scanner, and eating a banana. Bananas contain Potassium/ Potassium decay which make them radioactive, giving us radiation. Infact, several foods that we eat on a daily basis have radiation. I found it surprising that we are exposed  to more radiation if we sleep next to someone than sleeping alone. I did not  know that there was radiation coming from our daily interactions with the earth like the soil, air, space, etc. Before using these sources, I often linked radioactivity to things related to nuclear power and heat. However, I have learned that we humans experience radioactivity in our daily lives. I would have never known that there is radiation from eating bananas.
 
Sources used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1msbupjv08
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRL7o2kPqw0