Three things happened in 1954. The United States detonated mankind's first hydrogen bomb "cheering Castle" on Bikini island. The actual explosion power reached 15 million tons of TNT equivalent, twice and a half of the predicted value; The spread of radioactive dust in this test far exceeded expectations. In addition to infecting nearby residents, it also contaminated a Japanese fishing boat, resulting in the death of one person, causing an uproar in Japan; Next, "Godzilla" was released in Japan.
Since its birth, Godzilla has been a radiation monster, a metaphor for nuclear weapons. The first Godzilla film reveals the shadows of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and bikini. Even today, Godzilla has been transformed into a hero and guardian of mankind, and is still closely connected with nuclear and radiation. In a recent Godzilla movie, monsters are even set to live by radiation.
However, both monsters and radiation in reality are not so simple.
Monsters are an eternal theme
In fact, most of the past Godzilla were not direct products of nuclear radiation. In 1954, the first version of Godzilla was a long-standing monster. It was awakened by human nuclear test. In the latest version of the film, most of the nuclear tests are actually human efforts to eliminate Godzilla, but many people will mistakenly think that Godzilla's becoming so large is the direct consequence of nuclear radiation. This misunderstanding is understandable, because "increased radiation" is an extremely common theme in science fiction and horror works. Even rumors about the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident will have a group of "giant mice".
With the passage of time, the image of the monster can be traced back to the origin of each nation. The earliest monsters may have been awakened natural forces, but later they were tools used by some god to punish humans or guard an area. The great monsters in the era of geographical discovery are imagined to come from distant unknown places or deep seabed, and chemical agents and electric shocks have also become the sources of monsters in modern times. Radiation causing monsters is just another record in the long history of monster imagination.
Both positive and evil nuclear radiation
People turn pale when they talk about "radiation", and fear when they see "nuclear". In 2013, the leakage accident at Japan's nuclear power plant caused a large-scale panic. The fear of "nuclear radiation" is entirely due to the top killing God of the atomic bomb. Although the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan helped the world end World War II ahead of schedule, its devastating power also made people have a poor impression of nuclear science.
In fact, as early as 1896, the French physicist Becquerel discovered radiation in uranium salt. In 1898, the Curies discovered polonium and radium with stronger radiation, called this property "radioactivity" and pointed out that it came from the atom itself. Curie couple and Becquerel jointly won the 1903 Nobel Prize in physics. Under the guidance of Madame Curie, radioisotopes were used to treat tumors for the first time. Madame Curie also founded a Curie Institute in Paris and Warsaw, which is still an important medical research center.
Also in 1898, Rutherford, a British physicist born in New Zealand, discovered the half-life of radioactivity and named the radioactive product α Ray and β X-rays, later found γ Ray. Rutherford proved, α Rays are helium nuclei (containing two protons and two neutrons), β Rays are high-energy electrons, γ Rays are high-energy photons. These three forms of high-energy radiation will ionize atoms, so they are called ionizing radiation.
The main effect of ionizing radiation on organisms is to damage biological DNA, which may lead to gene mutation. But such damage is completely random. A small amount of radiation can be repaired. However, if exposed to a large amount of radiation, most of the results will lead to serious tissue damage, cancer and even direct death. Madame Curie did not know its nature when studying radioactive substances, so she was exposed to excessive radiation for a long time, which led to aplastic anemia in her later years and died at the age of 66.
Although we should not take nuclear radiation lightly, it is not as terrible as the legend. As long as appropriate protective measures are taken, nuclear radiation can be blocked away from a safe distance. α X-rays have the strongest ionization ability, but they can't even penetrate the skin. As long as a thin piece of paper can block them. β The ray penetration is slightly stronger and needs to be blocked by aluminum sheet. γ Rays are photons, so they have weak ionization ability and the strongest penetration. They need to be blocked by thick lead plates. Therefore, in nuclear power plants or radioactive laboratories, radioactive materials are isolated and preserved with thick lead plates.
As long as effective protective measures are taken, nuclear radiation can be used by people and the harm can be minimized.
Impossible Godzilla
There are also radioactive elements in nature. For example, there are different amounts of radioactive elements in all kinds of rocks and soils, water and atmosphere. Their content is very low and will not have adverse effects on organisms, including humans. Some people speculate that the mutation of biological genes may have something to do with this trace of radioactivity. Therefore, scientists also use radiation methods to select and cultivate new varieties, but beneficial mutations are not easy to obtain.
It doesn't matter if the probability is small. If we deal with an extremely large number of individuals, we can always find individuals and obtain beneficial mutations. But gene mutation is not magic. It must also comply with the laws of biology and physics in reality. Godzilla was not satisfied. Not to mention its super abilities such as spitting fire and drilling the ground, size alone is the biggest problem.
The first version of Godzilla stood up about 50 meters tall. There has never been such a big animal in nature, on the one hand, because the bones can't support it, on the other hand, because the heat dissipation can't keep up. Neither biology nor architecture can be scaled up. It's easy to build two or three stories of small buildings with brick and wood structure. To build two or three hundred stories of skyscrapers, we must rely on reinforced concrete. The materials available for bioenergy are limited. Vertebrates can only use various calcium compounds to form bones to support their bodies. To support a body 50 meters high, Godzilla's limbs must be short and thick, and it is difficult to move quickly.
The problem of heat dissipation is even more serious. If a creature is proportionally twice as tall, its weight will increase by eight times, while its surface area can only increase by four times. Large animals like elephants move slowly to avoid generating a lot of heat. Godzilla is a big monster that can fight. Intense activities produce amazing heat. Godzilla, 50 meters high, will heat himself to death.
Therefore, radioactivity in nature does exist, but it is impossible to create Godzilla. Godzilla is destined to live only in people's imagination.