Radio Frequency Radiation Warning Sign
 Julia: When most people see the word “radiation”, they think of the bad kind of radiation, like what’s leaking out of the damaged nuclear power plant in Japan for example.
The bad kind of radiation is “ionizing radiation”, meaning there is enough energy per photon to break molecular bonds. That includes ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma-rays. The latter two is what would leak out of a damaged nuclear reactor, and large doses can cause internal organ damage and cancer because X-rays and gamma-rays penetrate throughout the body. Ultraviolet doesn’t penetrate under the skin, so it can only cause sunburn and skin cancer. Large doses of non-ionizing radiation (like radio waves, microwaves, infrared, or visible light) can give you surface burns–but you don’t encounter that in everyday life (unless you focus sunlight with a magnifying glass onto your hand or something like that). The “hazard” part of our sign refers to when the radar transmitter is on. The peak power of the Arecibo transmitter is around 2 megawatts, and that’s enough to set things on fire at the focal point. However, the focal point is high up in the air, and no one is allowed on the platform while the radar is on. It is safe to walk around the dish during radar observations, because there is shielding (the metal mesh ring that’s like an extension of the dish). |
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