At one of the Skolovsky parties, at the junction of 2011-12. I happened to get one interesting present from the developer of personal dosimeters. It turned out to be a fun gadget DO-RA in the form of an Easter egg, packed in a large cardboard box, like from a smartphone. Apparently, the authors of the developments, realizing that their boss Viktor Vekselberg, the Chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation, is not indifferent to Faberge eggs, made a kind of plastic replica of the whole series of Easter gifts from the Russian Imperial Court.
A dusty gadget box was accidentally discovered exactly before a business trip to the United Arab Emirates. The device turned out to be batteryless and working through a standard audio jack with Apple smartphones. It is worth noting that, starting with the 7th iPhone model, Apple does not release smartphones with an audio connector, considering it a complete anachronism. However, the rejection of a completely utilitarian interface in the form of an audio jack for some reason synchronously popped with the release of expensive headphones - Airpod ?! Well, okay, their business, they know how to make money on all sorts of restrictions.
Having in his arsenal a casual iPhone-XS without an audio connector, to measure the background radiation level with a pocket dosimeter, I had to dig out an old iPhone-6 in the bins. To my surprise, it still preserved a mobile application for working with this already antique model ala Faberge. By the way, now a cross-platform solution for iOS and Android is being released from these developers.
So, having inserted my gadget into the audio connector of my iPhone, I opened the application and heard dimensional clicks, as in antediluvian models of military dosimeters. My device, oddly enough, worked, despite the fact that it lay for more than 7 years somewhere in the closet! At home, the application showed a green color corresponding to the environmental level of the radiation surrounding me by highlighting the number 0.12 μSv / h with a soothing warning on the display - the norm. Now I was completely ready for any radioactive emergency!
Later, boarding the plane, as a young dosimetrist, I prepared for measurements of the surrounding radiation background along the route. In the meantime, while the flight attendants were seating passengers, I opened a shopping magazine on board and started flipping through it for fun. On one of the pages I came across an EcoVisor from SOEKS - a very nice device that measures nitrates in fruits and vegetables, the quality of drinking water and the level of radiation hazard. It was thought that such a device would be useful in the household or in case of a gift, and without a shadow of a doubt, I bought it for some 184 Euros.
Stewardesses began their standard show - on safety on board, and at that time I delved into the instructions of Ecowiser. According to the instructions, the device turned out to be very easy to operate with intuitive logic - you press the buttons on the touch screen and you get the necessary measurement mode. Then, for the sake of interest, I decided to conduct comparative measurements of the level of radiation during the flight of the airliner with my pocket gadget and purchased on board by Ecoviser, starting from the moment of its purchase.
Overcoming a flight altitude of 7 km. both devices began to note the level of increased radiation on board, which was evident from the readings, both on Ecovisor and on the smartphone. So, in particular, on a smartphone, the gadget’s mobile application showed an orange danger of the background radiation level on board the airliner. When I asked the stewardesses how to relate to the radiation on board, one of them said that she was interested, but she did not have such a device and asked to be informed where it could be purchased. I said that it seems like you can easily get these gadgets via the Internet, since the price tag on board for the same Ecoviser is biting;)
After some time, our airliner entered the standard corridor with a height of 11.5 km. about which we were informed by the FAC - the commander of the air facility. At the same time, on the display of Ecovisor and a smartphone with a gadget, the radiation level crossed the limit of the orange border by switching to the red - dangerous zone. Then I asked another stewardess what she thinks about the increased radiation on board our aircraft ?!
By the way, at this moment she poured red and white wine to everyone. To which the stewardess calmly replied: “Yes, the radiation here is really increased, we are informed about this, but someone needs to work in the sky ?!” Then I told her that submariners on nuclear submarines, it’s just 200 grams each day. red wine for every day of the trip. Moreover, they are poured not for fear of deep immersion, but because red wine is actually a natural radioprotector. And he asked me to pour not one but two glasses of red at once, like a low-orbit astronaut;)
The main positive effect of natural red wine is achieved precisely due to the powerful oxidative properties of this product. Suppressing the effect of free radicals, red wine inhibits oxidative processes triggered by ionizing radiation.
In connection with the above described, a conclusion naturally arises that in an industrial age you should not have a personal dosimeter: go to the forest, go fishing, fly on a business trip, buy real estate and market food products, since invisible radiation can overtake you in any, not the most a suitable place, which is quickly impossible to leave, for example, the same plane in flight;)
November 8, 2019