1911: Cosmic rays - The book of science

Cosmic rays
From the cosmos
Danger, danger!
Commentary

Cosmic rays

If ions in our atmosphere
were created by radioactive minerals,
then they would become rarer and rarer
further and further from the surface of the earth.
Victor Francis Hess
ascended in balloons
over three miles up
to test this hypothesis.
When his electrometer
showed that the ionization rate
gradually diminished
until passing the altitude of 4900 feet
when it began to gradually increase
Hess realized
previously unknown radiation
penetrated deep into our atmosphere.

From the cosmos

High-energy particles
mostly helium nuclei
single protons
are hurled from the Sun,
hurled from supernovas,
and hurled from active galactic nuclei
by strong magnetic fields
associated with black holes.
These particles ionize nitrogen and oxygen,
deplete our protective ozone,
produce a fairly constant supply of carbon-14,
and other radioactive isotopes—
tritium, beryllium-7,
sodium-24, magnesium-28,
silicon-32, phosphorus-32,
sulphur-38, chlorine-39, argon-39,
and krypton-81 and 85.
Few of these effects
are particularly good for us.
Slippery particles from the cosmos
cause avalanches of electrons
that trigger lightning strikes.
Careening particles from the cosmos
alter the states of elements in our computers
to cause random errors.
Fierce particles from the cosmos
are responsible for an unlucky thirteen percent
of the background radiation on Earth,
causing genetic mutations
and ten percent of our cancers.

Danger, danger!

Cosmic rays pose a significant risk
to astronauts and other space travelers.
Akin to Superman’s Achilles’ heel
of heroic myth,
exposure to the fictional derivative
of krypton, kryptonite,
paralyzed the most powerful
and gave cancer to the evil Lex Luthor.
Even ordinary humans on Earth
are harmed every day.
Stress in the workplace
is more than bad enough.
Semis jack-knifing on freeways,
salmonella from unhygienic kitchens,
are not easily distinguished
from paranoias
and hypochondrias,
but if we learn to live well
then we learn to ignore inevitable risks.

Rare and random events are not reproducible scientifically, so that to claim any such event as a possible cause for a tragic outcome were to declare oneself unable to objectively think about it. How can one think objectively about life or death? The business of philosophy and religion, it seems, is to ask questions more than to answer them.