Instruments for scanning outer space after massive gamma ray bursts locate strong flashes of gamma energy within the sky of the Earth. These flashes of intraterrestrial gamma rays, or TGFs, erupt during or along the path of lightning storms.
In a recent study, scientists estimated that airline pilots may be exposed to radiation equivalent to 400 chest X-rays when they are close to a gamma burst that lasts about a millisecond. Joe Dwyer from the Florida Institute of Technology took part in the study, which used NASA's Reuven Ramati Observatory for high-energy spectroscopy imaging in the solar system, in order to measure the danger of exposure to intra-terrestrial gamma-ray bursts.
"We believe that the risk of encountering a TGF explosion on an airplane is very small," says Dwyer. "I would not hesitate to take a flight. Pilots today already avoid lightning storms because of turbulence, hail and lightning, so you can add gamma ray bursts to the list of reasons for avoiding storms."
He notes that, however, "it's worth a look."
NASA's Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) at the Fermi Telescope will help provide risk assessments.
"GBM provides the first data on TGF that have been made to date," says Dwyer. "This improves their spectrum measurements more than the previous instrumentation, and it gives us a more accurate understanding of how energetic they are."
Although TGF bursts are very short (about 1-2 milliseconds), they are probably the most energetic events that occur on the Earth. During them, packets of destructive gamma rays are emitted that are a million times more powerful than the energy of photons in visible light - powerful enough to penetrate a sheath of lead.
"It's amazing," says Jerry Fishman, a researcher in gamma ray monitoring systems. "They come and blast through the Fermi telescope, and it destabilizes all our sensors. Very few gamma ray bursts have done that!”
The origin of TGFs remains a mystery, but researchers do know this: TGFs are associated with lightning and thunder storms. "We think that the magnetic field in a lightning storm can become so strong that the storm itself becomes a factory to generate gamma rays," says Dwyer. "But we don't know for sure how, or why, or where in the storm this happens."
So so far no one knows how often, if at all, airplanes are hit by this from intra-terrestrial gamma ray bursts.
One possibility is that lightning is the trigger for TGF. Or maybe the other way around, TGFs are what cause lightning storms. Researchers aren't sure who comes first. Increasing the accuracy of TGF- measurement times to 2 microseconds - will help solve the mystery.
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To Ami Bachar, comment 1:
Green Giant, anyone? (-:
Gamma radiation is known as radiation that actually breaks down DNA and RNA strands (fragmentation),
And not only creates mutations that can cause evolution. Such a thing would have caused the ancient RNA strands
to disintegrate completely and never to be formed at all. I don't think these flashes are likely
Push evolution forward, what's more, there were enough mutagenic factors in the "primitive soup"
In order to cause the many mutations that drove the evolution process.
There are enough pilots and deals to conduct epidemiological studies
As always the question will be what affects and if radiation what is the source
It seems to me that the last sentence in the article is not accurate:
One possibility is that lightning is the trigger for TGF. Or maybe the other way around, TGFs are what cause lightning storms. Researchers aren't sure who comes first. Increasing the accuracy of TGF- measurement times to 2 microseconds - will help solve the mystery.
In my opinion, both the lightning and the TGF are the result of a powerful electrical breakdown that releases electrical charge (electrons) from the clouds into the sky.
X-rays are emitted as a result of an energetic interaction of an electron with an atomic nucleus. When a sufficiently energetic electron collides with an atomic nucleus an x-ray may be emitted.
Gamma ionizes.
I would change the translation of TGF to Atmospheric Gamma Flashes.
Flashes - because Flash is a flash and not an explosion
Atmospheric - because an "earthly face" may create an illusion as if the source is inside the earth. Although this is not a correct translation of the word Terrestrial, but "terrestrial face" is also not a correct translation of this word (the correct translation is "terrestrial") but the meaning will probably be better conveyed through the expression "atmospheric"
I want to correct what I wrote in response 2:
Gamma radiation (as I understand it) does not ionize the material.
Only alpha and beta radiation are ionizing.
So in response to what Ami Bachar suggested, I had to write my opinion like this:
Gamma radiation creates conditions for the creation of alpha and/or beta rays that one (or both) cause ionization
of a certain molecule whose ion allows a chemical interaction to be made that caused it to start replicating.
Maybe.
This is just my opinion, and should not be taken as fact.
I would bet on the possibility that the lightning is the trigger for TGF.
I think the lightning that is created is the result of cosmic rays passing through the earth
that in their collision with certain particles on Earth they create a magnetic field that causes a lightning storm,
which causes TGF.
incidentally,
There is some massive star in our galaxy that is about to explode (or has already exploded) and the gamma rays
His are supposed to go through an orbit that goes right through the center of our Earth.
Ami
Interesting what you say.
It is possible that life was created as a result of a certain gamma radiation that affected amino acids and caused their ionization
And created a molecule (maybe RNA) that began to replicate following some kind of chemical 'trigger'. interesting.
I got you right?
Very interesting article.
Statistics of the health status of pilots should be taken against the rest of the population and see if there is a sign of genetic damage or diseases originating from genetic mutations in a significantly greater amount among the pilots.
Also, in this context, it is interesting whether this phenomenon of ionizing radiation causes, in the long run, a new creation of species on Earth. If the phenomenon has great significance, it is possible that it is evolutionogenic (including evolution) and related to the initial process of the creation of life.
Greetings friends,
Ami Bachar