X-rays and CCW

[abaddon]

So the doctor x-rayed my foot the other day while I was carrying my Makarov. I'm a little worried that the metal in the gun could retain some radiation. Does anyone think this is a problem? Will I get bone cancer in my right hip in 10 years?

Jeff

 

[Mal H]

No chance whatsoever. The x-rays come and go in only a few milliseconds. Absolutely none are absorbed by the gun, or any material, to be released later. Also, unless the x-ray machine is defective (highly unlikely with the examinations each machine undergoes periodically), practically no x-rays even touched your handgun assuming it wasn't on your foot or ankle.

 

[JamisJockey]

What was the doc's reaction when he saw a gun in the xray?

 

[artherd]

No problem, while some of the x-rays may have hit something, and some of the somethings may have turned slightly radioactive....

EVERYTHING is radioactive to a degree, it's called background radiation. Carbon (which is in steel) especially is typically somewhat radioactive.

Very minute ammounts here, you will get more from watching TV for 1 hour than you will from a lifetime of wearing that pistol.

 

[Azrael256]

The typical X-ray dose from the doc's office is equivalent to less than three hours of exposure to background radiation. That's background, everywhere in the universe type radiation. So, if you have existed in this universe for more than three hours, you've handled more than you got from the doc. Actually, if you've flown from New York to Chicago, you've gotten about the same hit as the X-ray machine (high altitudes are, obviously, shielded by less atmosphere). None of this is taking into account that gigantic fusion bomb in the sky. That thing zaps you with even more radiation.

So, assuming your piece collected and is re-emmitting all the radiation (which it isn't, but you know that), you will likely develop cancer about the time I win my eighteenth lottery jackpot.

 

[benEzra]

No problem, while some of the x-rays may have hit something, and some of the somethings may have turned slightly radioactive....

Actually, X-rays can't produce any radioactivity whatsoever, regardless of the dose involved. A neutron beam can produce residual radioactivity by changing some stable isotopes into unstable ones, but X-rays can't. The instant the X-ray tube is shut down, there is no more ionizing radiation being generated anywhere; it's like shutting off a flashlight.

Unlike neutron radiation/alpha particles/beta particles, which are bits of matter, X-rays (and gamma rays) are just photons of light, albeit photons of very high frequency and energy.

 

[Shootcraps]

Yes it's a HUGE problem!! Send the gun to me right away and you won't have to worry about it anymore.

Merry Christmas fellas!

 

[ScottsGT]

It's a big NO NO in SC to carry while in a doctors office or in a hospital. Why? Don't ask me! I'm just one of the sheep.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...............

 

[HankB]

X-rays are electromagnetic radiation - think of X-rays as ultraviolet with a much shorter wavelength.

Materials become radioactive when the nucleus of the material is changed by fusion, fission, or altering the number of neutrons. The X-ray machine your doctor used can't do that.

Think about this for a while . . . if the X-rays could make the steel in your gun radioactive, what would they do to the iron in your blood?

 

[abaddon]

Thanks all,

The x-ray machine wasn't in a position to see the gun so the doctor didn't react. If it was an x-ray of my hip I probably would have told him before hand. Guess I get to keep the makarov.

Jeff

 

[musher]

Your gun gets xrayed every time you check it to travel on an airplane

 

[SJG26]

On the other hand, look out for the MRI.....

Guaranteed you and your gun will part ways.........................dems dam big magnets at work!!

 

[ExtremeDooty]

Your gun gets xrayed every time you check it to travel on an airplane

Can you even check handguns at an airport?

 

[Mal H]

Sure. Of course by 'check', we mean checked baggage, not in your carry-on. Contact the airline you'll be using for their procedures. They seem to vary from airline to airline.