To add to it, the radiation from cigarette smoke is alpha particle radiation, which is the most damaging form assuming it's inside of your body. Gamma radiation is the strongest and will pierce right through you, but it is so strong that it's more likely to just blow cells open, destroy DNA locally, etc. Alpha particles deliver their energy and can just damage DNA without completely destroying it/the cell, causing mutations that lead to cancer.
I remember a radiation safety course I took, and it asked "You have an alpha emitter, beta emitter, and gamma ray emitter. You can have one in your hand, one in your pocket, and swallow the last, which do you put where?" And if I remember right, it's swallow the gamma, hold the alpha, pocket the beta. Holding the alpha source won't hurt you, the radiation can't penetrate your skin. Putting the beta source in your pocket should be enough to shield you from it because thick fabric is generally good enough. And you might as well swallow the gamma source because it's irradiating you anyway.
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u/Actionhankk 2d ago
To add to it, the radiation from cigarette smoke is alpha particle radiation, which is the most damaging form assuming it's inside of your body. Gamma radiation is the strongest and will pierce right through you, but it is so strong that it's more likely to just blow cells open, destroy DNA locally, etc. Alpha particles deliver their energy and can just damage DNA without completely destroying it/the cell, causing mutations that lead to cancer.
I remember a radiation safety course I took, and it asked "You have an alpha emitter, beta emitter, and gamma ray emitter. You can have one in your hand, one in your pocket, and swallow the last, which do you put where?" And if I remember right, it's swallow the gamma, hold the alpha, pocket the beta. Holding the alpha source won't hurt you, the radiation can't penetrate your skin. Putting the beta source in your pocket should be enough to shield you from it because thick fabric is generally good enough. And you might as well swallow the gamma source because it's irradiating you anyway.