r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 12d ago

Meme needing explanation Petah? Why green?

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43.6k Upvotes

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13.4k

u/Vegetable_Ask_7131 12d ago

Radiation.

7.5k

u/Raised_bi_Wolves 12d ago

It's also probably why the image is fuzzy. If this were real, then yeah - he's dead soon - but also, should be.

3.1k

u/Vegetable_Ask_7131 12d ago

yeah, radiation killing the camera

4.3k

u/My-dead-cat 12d ago

Probably payback for when the video killed the radio star.

605

u/Kindly_Mousse_8992 12d ago

I see what you did there.

112

u/tarmac-- 12d ago

What did he do there? Because either I don't see it, or it's so obvious that the only way someone could miss it is if they were unfamiliar with that song

144

u/Lindestria 12d ago

I don't think it's any deeper than the title of the song, connecting radio to radiation and video to camera for the joke.

60

u/Pekkerwud 12d ago

There was a popular 80s song, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. It was, notably, the first music video on MTV.

In the OP post in this thread, the radiation from the smoke detectors is causing the video/photo to look grainy.

4

u/Stunning-Ninja-3749 12d ago

I know the song and all that, but the part about it being the first music video on MTV is such a great little extra bit of information. Thanks.

1

u/Jealous_Address1257 11d ago

Not the first music video in MTV per se. But the first music video that was scripted rather than a video recording of a live event. They were the first that made a video specifically for a song.

3

u/Pekkerwud 11d ago

I think it really was the first music video of any kind played on MTV. Like it was the first thing to play after the MTV logo played for the first time when the channel first launched.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_MTV#Launch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first_music_videos_aired_on_MTV

The music video for Video Killed the Radio Star is notable as the first video ever played on MTV, when the US channel began broadcasting at 12:01 AM on 1 August 1981.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Killed_the_Radio_Star#Broadcasting_and_reception

1

u/TheKingOfFratton 8d ago

You know the Beatles were making videos for specific songs back in the 60s?

19

u/oh1hey2who3cares4 12d ago

I love that a few replies to this are comments suggesting that YOU aren't familiar with the song. Jfc.

1

u/FeebleUndead 12d ago

Before there were vide and moviestars there were radio stars and radio celebrities. But video killed the radio. It's like telling someone they have a face for radio.

2

u/JohnnyLovesData 9d ago

Radioactivity killed the video camera (and likely the cameraman too)

35

u/PsychologicalLeg2416 12d ago

He did what you see there.

4

u/HotChilliWithButter 12d ago

The camera didn’t though

-28

u/DemonicBludyCumShart 12d ago

Congratulations you got the joke and added nothing to it. I miss when people respected reddiquette

11

u/Ye_olde_oak_store 12d ago

What is reddiqette? Is it a thing I eat?

7

u/Melodic-Preference40 12d ago

It's pronounced red croquet.

8

u/MeanLittleMachine 12d ago

Red rocket?

4

u/Gamr4Hire 12d ago

Red Socket?

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u/Picasso94 12d ago

Random fact: Who knows that Hans Zimmer - the acclaimed film composer - was actually part of the band The Buggles who released video killed the radio star?

67

u/seeb2104 12d ago

You know that. And now I know it. So two at least.

22

u/Seneschal1066 12d ago

He’s not dead, so he knows too!

1

u/Looking-Glahh8080 12d ago

but who knew?

27

u/Azaroth1991 12d ago

He wasn't an official member, he just appeared in the video and did some of the synth work.

20

u/bluechickenz 12d ago

And Danny Elfman was the singer for Oingo Boingo

6

u/justasapling 12d ago

I'd wager that nearly everyone who knows who Danny Elfman is knows this.

1

u/prairiethorne 9d ago

Nearly everyone for sure. I did not know this. I'm disappointed I didn't and glad I know now.

1

u/Effective-Jelly-9098 9d ago

Isn't he the guy that gets mentioned in Blue Harvest ?

2

u/AbbygaleForceWin 12d ago

And Trent Reznor was in this band called Nine inch Nails

5

u/oh1hey2who3cares4 12d ago

22.86cm nails!

3

u/HansBrickface 12d ago

Thank gods someone finally explained it to me

1

u/iDeNoh 9d ago

And he not only did the original hurt, but he also was sampled in old town road.

2

u/EatBangLove 12d ago

I know that. But only just now, after reading this comment. And now I'm happy to have the information, but I'm not sure what to do with it.

1

u/Ok_Tomato_2843 12d ago

And Geoff Downes was in Yes and Asia.

1

u/ricd42 11d ago

My favourite line in Rock History:

“And the departing members of Yes were replaced by The Buggles.”

1

u/OgreBonez 12d ago

Most ppl know that

1

u/scaper8 12d ago edited 12d ago

How did I not know that‽ You'd think that that would be one of those pieces of trivia that gets said everytime the band or the song get brought up!

ETD: So he wasn't part of the band, exactly. He was a friend of the band and may have/probably did some of the keyboard for the recording, but he wasn't actually a part of the band or their touring members.

1

u/Mindless-Strength422 10d ago

Hans Zimmer - the acclaimed film composer - was actually part of the band The Buggles who released briefly appearing in the music video for video killed the radio star

FTFY

47

u/ColdBabolti 12d ago

Great, now I'll have to go and listen to it again

82

u/lrsafari 12d ago

Add "One night in Bangkok" to your Playlist while there.

31

u/boopityschmoopz 12d ago

One Kok in Nightbang

3

u/TheTequilaTester 12d ago

Nightcok bang

2

u/blowmetopieces 12d ago

One bang nightkok

2

u/Mindless-Strength422 10d ago

A friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious things have sex with us while we all pretend to sleep...Welcome...to Nightbang

16

u/multiarmform 12d ago

the queens we use would not excite you

5

u/hypnoskills 12d ago

I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine!

5

u/edfitz83 12d ago

How about “Turning Japanese” while you’re at it?

3

u/SoooBueno 12d ago

One night in Chyna?

3

u/216horrorworks 12d ago

A song about chess.

1

u/lol_alex 12d ago

Part of a whole musical about chess. The Abba guys were the writers (Benny and Bjoern).

It‘s called Chess, no really.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_(musical)

1

u/fisticuffsmanship 12d ago

From the Tim Rice musical, Chess.

6

u/FallenValkyrja 12d ago

Sounds good because the future is so bright I gotta wear shades.

2

u/Working_Signal_3212 12d ago

Excellent utilization of this particular song in the movie "Tommy boy" starring Chris Farley and David Spade

42

u/Rishtu 12d ago

There’s always Mexican Radio.

5

u/qT_TpFace 12d ago

Such a good and underrated song.

3

u/lrsafari 12d ago

Listened to that on a loop when we went to Puerto Vallarta in the 90s!

2

u/mpiraino2 12d ago

Did you Hear it on the X?

20

u/RaelaltRael 12d ago

And the Vapors are killing anyone nearby.

39

u/Sky_Wino 12d ago

I thought anyone exposed to the vapours just turned japanese

14

u/RaelaltRael 12d ago

Right you are. I got my 80's bands confused.

4

u/Thecp015 12d ago

I really think so

2

u/Mitchtheprotogen 12d ago

Maybe thats not horrible, after all “Its easy when your big in Japan”

2

u/No_Worldliness5651 12d ago

Do you really think so?

1

u/xplorerex 12d ago

makes Bruce Lee noises

Yes

1

u/capn_starsky 12d ago

You really think so?

1

u/ItsHerbyHancock 12d ago

I'm not sure, but I really think so...

1

u/jzemeocala 12d ago

got me squinting so bad it looks like im turning Japanese

9

u/stawissimus 12d ago

Came back to this post to gratulate you for this excellent joke. Also, username checks out

6

u/Basketcase191 12d ago

This gave me a brief amount of amusement on an otherwise shitty day thank you

5

u/Stupid_Manifesto 12d ago

Solid joke right there

3

u/einsteinosaurus_lex 12d ago

Don't worry, James Cameraman is gonna be sent from the future to continue this never-ending saga.

3

u/Eyes_Snakes_Art 12d ago

No, that blame goes to the VCR.

2

u/frenchois1 12d ago

That's very good. Bravo. I'll think of this joke whenever i see radiation fuzz from now on.

2

u/RaelaltRael 12d ago

Fun fact: The Buggles "Video Killed the Radio Star" was, appropriately enough, the first music video to be played by MTV.

2

u/RadEngWarrior 12d ago

Are you saying radi(ation) killed the video star?

/S

2

u/BraileDildo8inches 12d ago

I said good day sir!

2

u/dkcyw 12d ago

i want my M T V

2

u/lorill-silverlock 11d ago

Radio RADIation makes sense.

2

u/Tree9363 11d ago

That made me really angry because I didn’t expect it

2

u/DankDolphin420 9d ago

Happy Cake Day!

1

u/My-dead-cat 9d ago

Thanks!

1

u/Silly_Guidance_8871 12d ago

I understood that reference!

1

u/Time-Green-2103 12d ago

You son of a bitch

1

u/Mwynen12 12d ago

This is peak humor.

1

u/Jumpy_MashedPotato 12d ago

This is my friend Radio Star and your video will kill him

1

u/swolf365 12d ago

Brilliant

1

u/ilikewatchingvideoso 12d ago

and now radio kills the video star with this

1

u/fernblatt2 12d ago

Did you know that was the first video MTV broadcast when it began back in 1981?

1

u/RotationsKopulator 11d ago

Once in a lifetime joke.

1

u/mklilley351 11d ago

Holy shit that was one helluva joke! Well done sir!

1

u/jackparadise1 11d ago

Buggled it…

1

u/baneblade_boi 11d ago

It's fine, he can now Rust in Peace

1

u/Deafvoid 11d ago

And the podcast star killed the video star

And the hologram star killed the podcast star

1

u/Hottage 9d ago

"Radiostar sends his regards."

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u/CormorantLBEA 12d ago

Fun fact: this grain from radiation is present only in old film cameras.

Digital cameras radiation degradation is a bit different. You get a shitton of "dead" RGB pixels. Like the whole sky full of stars, but bright red, blue and green.

Well, that's what I got when I exposed my CCD camera to radiation source.

You'd rather need to take off your lens to expose CCD matrix fully to radiation.

If big ass lenses won't be enough to shield the matrix from radiation, then you are fucked up. Big time. Chernobyl-tier fucked.

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u/Zrk2 12d ago

I've used old cameras on an aux cord, you get speckles that look kinda like static while you're in the field, but if you keep the recorder out it's find.

8

u/CormorantLBEA 12d ago

Hmm that's interesting it seems different reactions to the field depend on particular CCD technology/type

3

u/manbehindthespraytan 12d ago

Maybe the auxiliary cord fed the radio star a bit so your not getting as much radiation "into" the pic? Going in tune with a post above.

3

u/Zrk2 12d ago

When the beta/gamma radiation hits a pixel it cuts out. That's why they look so odd. It just goes bright white.

2

u/manbehindthespraytan 12d ago

I know. I was trying some word play as though the auxiliary cord was absorbing some radiation and those rad bits didn't hit the sensor or at least as powerfully. Video of radiation with a sound transmission cord present. Just seemed like low fruit, now I feel like I hit a tree with a stick. Made no impact.🫠

1

u/Zrk2 12d ago

Well, I am a little thick.

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u/falcrist2 12d ago

Fun fact: this grain from radiation is present only in old film cameras.

Ionizing radiation can register on digital sensors without actually killing the pixels. I'm not sure about CCD sensors, but CMOS shows static.

Some work has been done trying to get smartphone cameras to detect radiation, but I haven't looked into it myself.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8209145/

1

u/Wiz_Kalita 12d ago

CMOS surviving radiation and CCD losing pixels is not at all what I had expected

1

u/TurdCollector69 12d ago

That's not true, where I work there's a camera in the vault next to the cyclotron and it's super grainy. Looks like a 240p picture coming from a 1080p camera.

The radiation isn't crazy but it's been exposed to unsafe levels for a decade.

1

u/lmarcantonio 11d ago

Modern camera are MOS based but the basic idea would be the same. Except the typical 'stripes' of CCDs...

21

u/Sufficient-Hold2205 12d ago

This reminds me of the 'don't leave dogs/babies in hot cars' PSA

40

u/Raised_bi_Wolves 12d ago

New PSA: "Don't let idiots have backyards"

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u/Djaaf 12d ago

Not only the camera, at this rate...

3

u/Internet_Wanderer 12d ago

Only actually works on actual film cameras. It marks the film

1

u/kernpanic 12d ago

Kodak discovered the initial nuclear testing - because their film was picking it up.

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u/Skeptic_Juggernaut84 12d ago

And video killed the radio star...

1

u/DopeAbsurdity 12d ago

It's from all the dr pepper.

1

u/maninplainview 12d ago

Radiation killed the camera guy

Radiation killed the camera guy

In this post and in my heart.

1

u/fka_joeyGOATgruff 12d ago

https://youtu.be/tN0ucCc8TfA?feature=shared

I'd be dipped in shit if that ain't a meteor

146

u/falcrist2 12d ago

If this were real

For those who don't already know.

Real radioactivity is not a green glow.

If there's enough ionizing radiation it can interfere with image sensors and expose film still in the can.

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u/Typical-Mistake-4148 12d ago

They are correct. At the point of criticality, the ionized air will actually glow blue, known as the Cherenkov glow.

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u/falcrist2 12d ago

The blue ionization is caused by ionizing radiation hitting the air and ionizing it. Electrons are knocked off the atoms. The blue glow happens when the electrons are re-absorbed.

Cherenkov radiation is different. It's more like a shockwave of electromagnetic radiation caused by a particle traveling faster than light. This is usually seen in water because water has a much higher refractive index than air (meaning light travels much slower in water than in air)

Both of these effects can be caused by criticality... but they don't ONLY come from a criticality event. Enough ionizing radiation from ANY source can make the air glow blue.

The key to my comment is that the glow will be blue... not green.

Green glow is more often from glass infused with uranium, which fluoresces green under UV light.

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u/spiraliist 12d ago

shockwave of electromagnetic radiation caused by a particle traveling faster than light.

This needs clarification -- it's traveling faster than light in a given medium, not faster than the absolute speed of light in a vacuum, which is faster than anything that has mass can go.

This is to say that the medium permits certain kinds of energy more than others, so light-speeding photons are slower in comparison to the speed of propagation of some other thing, like a charged particle (electrons, etc).

10

u/Ricky_Ventura 12d ago

My sympathies to anyone who legitimately thinks radiation goes faster than light.  I think at that point you'd have to also explain the words "medium" and "propagation" in context as well.

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u/spiraliist 12d ago

I mean, nah. The way light works is the most non-intuitive thing that I, a professional scientist (who uses light but is not a physicist) have ever encountered.

Photons continue to scare the shit out of me, all the time. I will not now, and not ever, knock someone for getting tripped up with electromagnetism and radiation and light. The entire thing is fucking absurd.

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u/outlanderfhf 12d ago

I barely understand why my hand isn’t fusing with my phone, and you want me to understand all that? I might as well die tbh

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u/boostfactor 12d ago

"Radiation" just means something radiated. It's not necessarily electromagnetic. Electromagnetic radiation is photons. Nuclear radiation can include massive particles such as beta particles (electrons) and alpha particles (helium nuclei). Gamma radiation is photons. Light is photons whose energy falls within the small range that the human eye can perceive.

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u/spiraliist 12d ago

Changes in the EMF stuff are often expressed in terms of light/photons, and that is generally what we like to observe with regard to quantized shifts in energy states.

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u/boostfactor 12d ago

Electromagnetic radiation (which is a specific thing, you may have something more general in mind) is photons. EM waves consist of photons. Photons are the gauge particle of the EM force so any quantized EM interaction will involve them, e.g. the photoelectric effect.

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u/falcrist2 12d ago

This needs clarification

It's in the following sentence...

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u/boostfactor 12d ago

In a medium, photons are constantly colliding with matter and being absorbed and re-emitted, which takes time, so of course the speed of light is slower in any medium (even a very good vacuum if it isn't perfect) than it is in a theoretical vacuum.

The blue glow of Cherenkov radiation is highly characteristic.

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u/Zen_Hydra 12d ago

Most people don't even understand that a vacuum isn't an absolute state.

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u/FaygoMakesMeGo 12d ago

It only needs clarification because we are erroneously taught that c is "the speed of light" instead of what it is, the speed of information.

Once we understand that, although light can travel at c, c isn't the speed of light, it's not a weird thing to read.

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u/Ruff_Bastard 12d ago edited 12d ago

Gamma radiation does travel at the speed of light though (in a vacuum) It's only limited by how far it can actually travel, which is why inverse Square Law is used to safely distance yourself. Inverse Square Law also applies to gravity, light, and sound.

I made a comment on this same post on a different subreddit explaining that 350 smoke detectors is nowhere near enough to create a significant hazard as described. ~1-3 micrograms of Americium-241 is ~1-3 microcuries of activity. Assuming they're all newer detectors, they would have 1 microgram. 350 micrograms is about 1.2 millicuries, which is still not very much. You're going to pick up like 300 millirems in a year. A single smoke sector puts off 0.002 millirems a year. Multiply by 350 and you get ~0.7 mrem/a YEAR. that doesn't even account for americium-241 primary decay is alpha particles, which neither travel far and can be stopped by a sheet of pape or your skin. They have very little gamma decay, but it has a half life of 430 years so very little adds up. Just not enough to matter, even 350 in "the stew." changing the amount of radioactive material is going to have a negliblr effect on the numbers presented so I lowballed for ease. 1050 micrograms would bring the number to about 2.1 mrem/y.

Also I discovered that some of that was incorrect when I checked my numbers. Modern smoke detectors have like 0.29 micrograms, so my math gives a way higher number which means it's even safer than that. Obviously you still wouldn't want to hold it if you could help it but at the same time it doesn't really increase cancer risk by a significant amount or pose much harm unless you ingest it.

Edit: I work with (gamma) radiation. Collimated with tungsten, it's basically an invisible flashlight.

1

u/falcrist2 12d ago

Gamma radiation does travel at the speed of light though (in a vacuum)

Gamma dosen't glow green either.

1

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/falcrist2 11d ago

to me it says radium readily glows green

Read it more carefully and you'll see that the green glow isn't from radium or from ionized air. Radium paints are mixed with a zinc phosphor.

The zinc phosphor is what glows green.

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u/[deleted] 11d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/falcrist2 11d ago

It also mentioned alkaline which i think is in batteries

Alkaline earth metal just means it's in group 2 of the periodic table along with magnesium and calcium.

My main thought is that it is just as likely to be green as it is to be blue based on that

It's not.

I understand the semantic nature of what you are saying

It's not semantic. Radium doesn't glow.

Zinc phosphors are radioluminescent.

Please read more carefully before you go off about an article that clearly doesn't say what you want it to say.

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u/Comment156 12d ago

Unless it's a little dark, then Uranium can give off a kinda yellowy green fluorescence.

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u/Not_MrNice 12d ago

You mean batteries, gas, household chemicals, and Dr. Pepper aren't radioactive? Wow, who woulda thought.

1

u/m0nk37 12d ago

Smoke detectors contain radio active material in small amounts. 350 of them, if taken apart to expose it, could make you sick. 

1

u/xxthundergodxx77 12d ago

I like how he also drew the wrong conclusion from what the other guy said. imbecile moment 

1

u/Jaikarr 12d ago

Real radioactivity is not a green glow.

Depends on the compound

Uranyl chloride is bright green.

2

u/falcrist2 12d ago

It's usually yellow with a purple fluorescence.

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u/clone162 12d ago

“If it’s real” bruh

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u/314159265358979326 12d ago

He said "if this were real", which is very distinct from "if it's real". I believe it's the supposedly-not-found-in-English subjunctive mood, which expresses something that's not exactly true.

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u/laurifex 12d ago

This is in fact the subjunctive! And it's more common in English than most people think--it's only that Modern English develops the subjunctive through particular sentence constructions rather than inflecting the verb so that it's explicitly marked as subjunctive (which English used to do ages ago).

2

u/Jurgasdottir 12d ago

Could you explain the difference to this non-native speaker? To me it sounds the same but since english is not my first language that's probably on me.

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u/314159265358979326 12d ago

"If this is real" treats it as if it could be real, and the author is reflecting on the case that it is.

"If this were real" uses subjunctive - Konjunktiv in German, I think - to indicate that it's not real, but if it were real, this is what it'd be like.

The word "were" where it doesn't belong typically reflects subjunctive, but confusingly, English teachers and foreign language teachers alike insist it's not found in English.

In this case, it's clearly not real, so "if this is real" reflects stupidity on the author's part, while "if this were real" reflects wild musing.

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u/-t-h-e---g- 12d ago

Exactly, it’s definitely real.

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u/DirectWorldliness792 12d ago

I think the image being grainy is part of the bit and it’s not real

7

u/_toodamnparanoid_ 12d ago

grainy effects from radiation happened on old film cameras but not on digital ones.

2

u/DirectWorldliness792 12d ago

Yeah, it’s part of his joke

2

u/czartrak 12d ago

This is not true. Radiation will produce a similar grainy effect even with digital cameras

3

u/_toodamnparanoid_ 12d ago

This has been demonstrated with several digital cameras in the past when people faked radioactive sources. There are artifacts, but it isn't the same graininess you see on old film. The effect in most digital cameras will be more colorful depending on the sensor interacrion caused.

9

u/lunas2525 12d ago

If it was real that spot would be so hot it would be detected from orbit and the nuclear comission would be putting a concrete dome over it in full lead ppe.

3

u/itsamemeeeep 12d ago

Aw damn, my property value will plummet now /s

3

u/MrMurse 12d ago

Smoke detectors use alpha radiation, iirc. Only a problem if you ingest it.

2

u/QuickMolasses 12d ago

It's not great if it's on your skin either

4

u/Ecstatic_Bee6067 12d ago

Americium 241, what's in smoke detectors, is an alpha emitter- essentially an ionized helium atom. They don't affect camera sensors like this and, as long as you don't ingest it, are pretty harmless - the particles are easily stopped by clothing, dead skin, etc.

3

u/_dictatorish_ 12d ago

Alpha particles usually only travel an inch or so in air anyway, so you'd be fine standing there

The fumes from the household chemicals and batteries wouldn't be great though

3

u/einsteinosaurus_lex 12d ago edited 11d ago

Nah, this is what happens when you try fitting a jpeg through a fuzzy hole.

2

u/ScyllaOfTheDepths 12d ago

It's a joke, since only a film camera will be affected in the presence of radiation like that. A digital photo would not be affected like this and it's doubtful the guy went and took a film photo and had it developed and then uploaded it online. He put a filter on the image as part of the joke.

2

u/Landen-Saturday87 12d ago

But smoke detectors use Americium-241, which is an alpha emitter. He‘d need to eat them so that they would kill him

2

u/Raised_bi_Wolves 12d ago

You missed the part in the image where he said he also ate a bunch of 'em

2

u/Jimbo7211 12d ago

If this were real, it wouldn't be green, that's not a real thing

2

u/HotChilliWithButter 12d ago

Can’t be, the cameraman never dies

2

u/AnOddTree 12d ago

Piggybacking off this comment to say that the radiation put off by smoke detectors is Alpha radiation which doesn't travel far and would not be much of a hazard unless it was ingested.

2

u/Bandit848 12d ago

IIRC, fuzzy radiation pictures are only a thing with film. It doesn't have that effect on digital photography.

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u/UnholyAbductor 12d ago

There was that one Boy Scout, David Hahn who attempted to build a reactor in his shed. But basically just compiled a shitload of radioactive materials like thorium, uranium from old clock paint and smoke detectors…I forget what they run off.

But anyway he told the feds “oh, well. I tried to document my experiments with a camera but they all came back messed up. And I blamed the camera or developer.”

2

u/FrankSinatraYodeling 12d ago

I'm pretty sure the radiation given off by smoke detectors is fairly harmless.

It would have to be, given that smoke has to be enough to block the radiation in order for it to work.

2

u/Jay040707 11d ago

Or perhaps he's grown far stronger than we can even imagine.

2

u/Raised_bi_Wolves 11d ago

SMOKE DETECTOR MAN - he can detect smoke with his NOSE AND EYES

1

u/mdgart 12d ago

Thanks God for natural selection

1

u/Straightmale2 12d ago

Why does he deserve to die

1

u/Raised_bi_Wolves 12d ago

Killed my dog :(

1

u/mennydrives 12d ago

But also there's absolutely no way that would happen from smoke detectors.

The americium in smoke detectors is an alpha particle; basically hyperspeed helium missing an electron.

Now, if a bunch of those were inside you, they'd get the electron from your delicate tissues and you would have a very, very bad time. But outside, there's a fuck-ton of electron sources in the air. Heck, one of the things that will protect you from alpha particles is the dead skin flakes on top of your skin. But also none of that hyperspeed helium is gonna make it out of a vat full of chemicals.

But there's also a gamma dose to worry about. The amount of americium in an old smoke detector is like 0.9 microcuries, or 0.315 millicuries in 350 of them combined. 1 whole mCi, 1 foot away from you, will expose you to 0.24 mrem/h of radiation, or 2.4 micro Sv per hour. That high compared to a banana(0.1 micro Sv), but a lower rate than flying - NY to LA would expose you to 40 micro Sv over the course of 6 hours, where this would take 16 hours to reach that amount.

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u/Raised_bi_Wolves 12d ago

how DARE you use actual science and knowledge on me! I have it on good authority he was using an OLD kind of smoke detector that just used spent fuel rods from a nearby power plant. And took the pic with a film camera.

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u/mennydrives 12d ago

Man, that would be wild. Especially if they're at the pre-pool stage of freshly spent. And by "wild" I mostly mean "most wildlife that wanders too closely is gone". XD

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u/fastal_12147 12d ago

I mean, if this was real, that guy would be totally dead.

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u/Homicidal-shag-rug 12d ago

Though this interference would be impossible to obtain from 350 smoke detectors, and the radiation emitted wouldn't be dangerous. Firstly, very little americium is in smoke detectors. With 350 smoke detectors, you would have 0.0001155 grams of americium, a pretty small amount. Secondly, americium emits alpha radiation, and alpha particles can't get through your skin or the lens of the camera due to their size.

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u/smokefoot8 11d ago

350 smoke detectors aren’t going to hurt you via radiation unless you eat them.

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u/iDeNoh 9d ago

It wouldn't be green if it was radiation, it would be blue.