Ah, okay, that makes sense - that the folks from the Farragut weren't just the cadets, but also folks who had been onboard for a while. I sometimes feel a bit sad that the crewmen who are NOT officers get overlooked in writing. And... yeah, I just realized that if Gaila has access to the Kobayashi Maru training sim room and computers, she probably has at least one advanced degree or higher status. Good point. But I still feel like I've seen everyone default to Lieutenant in fanfics everywhere, and nowhere to I ever see non-officer crew members mentioned.
As for the radiation... there are two basic types of radiation - ionizing and non-ionizing. In short, there are "beams" like gamma rays and x-rays and stuff. Then there are particulate radiation sources like isotopes (Carbon-14 is a well-known example, but there are hundreds) which give off alpha and beta particles as well as sometimes other types of radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum. If you get hit by gamma radiation from an external source, the rays will damage your cellular structures while you're being exposed, but it doesn't leave a residue of contamination. However, if you get physically covered with isotopes that give off radiation, then you'll continue to get exposed to the radiation until you literally wash the isotopes off your skin.
It's like... okay, imagine there's a container of uranium sitting on the table in front of you. It's giving off radiation. As long as you don't get the uranium on your skin, you'll ONLY be exposed to the radiation from the uranium as long as you're sitting close to it. When you put a shield (like lead) between you and the uranium, or you walk away, you stop being exposed to the radiation. However, if you get the uranium powder on your skin, THEN you need to decontaminate, because you'll keep getting exposed until it's been washed away.
The radiation in space is basically the beams that penetrate the hull of the ship. You're not getting coated with radioactive materials... UNLESS there are radiation sources IN THE SHIPS that were exposed and released when the ships were damaged. If that happened, then it's possible that the personnel were coated with radioactive materials. Otherwise, they'd just get bombarded with rays through the ship's hull and plating, which would stop as soon as they were shielded again.
I've been trained in radioactive decontamination, and if you're coated with radioactive materials... it's basically a scrub-down procedure. It's just like any other substance... except it gives off rays and particles that damage cellular structures.
Okay, that's enough science lesson for tonight. I'm sleepy. Did it make sense though?
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-11-28 06:08 am (UTC)As for the radiation... there are two basic types of radiation - ionizing and non-ionizing. In short, there are "beams" like gamma rays and x-rays and stuff. Then there are particulate radiation sources like isotopes (Carbon-14 is a well-known example, but there are hundreds) which give off alpha and beta particles as well as sometimes other types of radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum. If you get hit by gamma radiation from an external source, the rays will damage your cellular structures while you're being exposed, but it doesn't leave a residue of contamination. However, if you get physically covered with isotopes that give off radiation, then you'll continue to get exposed to the radiation until you literally wash the isotopes off your skin.
It's like... okay, imagine there's a container of uranium sitting on the table in front of you. It's giving off radiation. As long as you don't get the uranium on your skin, you'll ONLY be exposed to the radiation from the uranium as long as you're sitting close to it. When you put a shield (like lead) between you and the uranium, or you walk away, you stop being exposed to the radiation. However, if you get the uranium powder on your skin, THEN you need to decontaminate, because you'll keep getting exposed until it's been washed away.
The radiation in space is basically the beams that penetrate the hull of the ship. You're not getting coated with radioactive materials... UNLESS there are radiation sources IN THE SHIPS that were exposed and released when the ships were damaged. If that happened, then it's possible that the personnel were coated with radioactive materials. Otherwise, they'd just get bombarded with rays through the ship's hull and plating, which would stop as soon as they were shielded again.
I've been trained in radioactive decontamination, and if you're coated with radioactive materials... it's basically a scrub-down procedure. It's just like any other substance... except it gives off rays and particles that damage cellular structures.
Okay, that's enough science lesson for tonight. I'm sleepy. Did it make sense though?