Overview
the question: If you travel by starship to the center of the galaxy such that you arrive within a subjective human lifespan, how much radiation damage will you suffer from the interstellar vacuum?
My partners did the abstract and assumptions I need to do one part which is resulting
ABSTRACT (Pony):
This report focuses on exploring and understanding the damage caused by prolonged interstellar travel, through Physics and Biological perceptions to define the seriousness of the impact of radiation on human body. As astronauts and their spacecraft venture into the space, they are exposed to many different factors such as cosmic radiation which includes galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events. Those high-energy particles can get through the material layers of the spacecraft eventually and causes damage to the astronauts inside; which can cause serious health risks and reduce the lifespan of those who are on the mission.
ASSUMPTIONS/ BACKGROUND (Cameron):
A Fermi question is a question that is extremely difficult or impossible to measure directly. The concept comes from Enrico Fermi, who was known for his ability to solve problems by making approximations using little to no actual data. The Fermi question chosen by our group to approximate is: If you travel by starship to the center of the galaxy such that you arrive within a subjective human lifespan, how much radiation damage will you suffer from the interstellar vacuum?
Before approximating the value for the radiation absorbed during the journey, some assumptions must first be made:
Special relativity holds
Ignore problems with acceleration/ deceleration
Subjective human life span = 73.5 years (Worlddata, 2023)
The distance to the center of the Milky Way galaxy is approximately 26,000 lightyears
The lethal dose of radiation expected to cause death to 50% of an exposed population within 30 days is ~400 rads in a very short period of time (NRC, 2021).
- Radiation damage will be measured in rads, which is a unit of absorbed radiation equal to 1 J/kg
- It will be assumed that the spacecraft is constructed of a thin layer of aluminum
- RESULTS:
- To determine
CALCULATIONS: - REFERENCES: