Radiation and radioactivity
When talking about weather, it’s important to distinguish between radiation and radioactivity. But this article offers you 2 for 1: today, we’ll talk about both.
The shadow government of Earth’s climate
Weather and climate are extremely complex processes, because the number of things that affect them is simply enormous.
But there is one factor that affects absolutely all physical processes on the Earth’s surface and in the atmosphere—it is the main factor on which everything depends. It is not even on our planet, but controls everything from the outside. And it is always in the most prominent place (so that no one would even think about it, of course).
It’s not aliens, or even Illuminati. And it’s hard to call this not particularly secretive puppeteer «shadowy,» because we’re talking about the Sun and solar radiation.
The Sun is plotting its evil schemes to manipulate our climate, 152 million kilometers from Earth. In the ultraviolet range. Photo: NASA/SDO
The word «radiation» if we talk about the Sun serves as a synonym for «emissions». That is to say, solar radiation for us is everything that leaves the Sun’s interior and reaches at least the Earth’s neighborhood, including visible light.
But visible light is only part of the sun’s radiation, albeit the largest part. Solar radiation also consists of light particles of other energies invisible to the eye—ultraviolet, radio waves, and X-rays, for example. And also, there is radiation from decaying particles, the most radioactive type of solar radiation, which can lead to radiation sickness.
But let’s start at the beginning.
How exactly the Sun controls everything
All solar radiation particles, which are not deflected by the Earth’s magnetic field, and are not absorbed by the upper atmosphere, reach the planet and heat its surface.
This is perhaps the most important thing the Sun does—it heats the Earth’s surface. That’s where it all starts.
Each part of the planet heats up differently, the process depends on proximity to the equator, the type of surface, the time of year and day. And because of the unevenness of the heat, you get uneven air density, because warm air is less dense than cold air. Because of the difference in air pressure, the air begins to move, that is, wind is created.
In particular, warm air rises up, because it is lighter than cold air, and cold air goes down—this creates air circulation. And if there is also evaporation of water, the air circulation carries moisture from the surface of the Earth high into the sky, which leads to the formation of clouds. And those, in turn, can lead to rain and other types of precipitation.
The Sun continues to plan its secret schemes to control the Earth. Photo: NASA
And since the equator receives more solar radiation than the polar regions (where solar particles arrive at a steeper angle, taking a longer path through the atmosphere, which means more light is absorbed high above the ground), there is a difference in the heating of the Earth’s surface. Climatic belts appear—the tropics, temperate zones and other climate regions.
It turns out that there is not a single element of the Earth’s climate, which the Sun does not directly or indirectly affect. It is a real puppeteer!
And what about the Sun’s radioactivity?
Solar radiation is composed of not only particles of light, but also unstable nuclei of atoms—by-products of processes occurring inside the star. They are like wood shavings in a carpenter’s shop, but quantum! And highly radioactive.
Remember, radioactivity is the ability of decaying atoms to emit particles that are dangerous to all living things. These include different kinds of particles, but they can all lead to radiation sickness.
Unstable atoms come to us mainly from other sources in the galaxy, not from the Sun—after the explosions of supernovas, for example. But on days of increased solar activity, when the Sun throws part of its mass towards the Earth, and everyone is waiting for a geomagnetic storm, it is the Sun that becomes the main source of radioactive particles from space.
The remnants of supernova SN 1572, which erupted in the Earth’s sky in 1572. Cosmic rays flew to us for 7,500 years, so it’s unlikely to have greatly increased radioactivity anywhere on Earth. Photo: NASA
The good news is that most of the radioactive particles are absorbed before they reach the planet’s surface. The Earth’s magnetic field is part of this process, which directs particularly «evil» particles to the polar regions.
The upper atmosphere also contributes, as space particles are absorbed by the air, which can lead to auroras. The ozone layer protects us especially well in the Earth’s atmosphere.
At sea level, solar radioactivity is definitely not to be feared (unlike radiation). The influence grows with altitude, but even on the tops of the highest mountains, solar ultraviolet particles are much more dangerous than something radioactive from space.
There is slightly higher than normal radioactivity at altitudes where airplanes fly—10-12 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. It is especially noticeable on long flights like transatlantic flights. But the effect is insignificant, and stewardesses and pilots, for example, have special norms for flights per year, so that this radioactivity dose is not exceeded.
If one really wanted to and put together a combo—flying as long and high as possible, right during a catastrophically strong geomagnetic storm—pilots would likely choose a route to minimize exposure to solar particles. And so, even in this case, it is unlikely that anyone would get an especially dangerous dose.
It turns out that solar radioactivity can be excluded from the list of things that you need to worry about, at least for today. But avoiding excessive solar radiation like the very carcinogenic UV rays is worth the effort.
Text: Jason Bright, a journalist, and a traveler
Cover photo: Viktor Mindt / Unsplash
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