The Russians are creating an anti-radiation composition for stellar travel

An extraordinary breakthrough in radiation containment and irradiation was made by Russian scientists at the Ural Federal University (UrFU) when they created a compound to make a radiation-shielding material. radiationwhich would be very effective for future stellar travel to other planets and even at the earth level to counter nuclear disasters.

Radiation exposure is extremely harmful to living organisms because it can cause serious diseases that can become hereditary. Both large instantaneous doses of radiation and short-term exposure at low levels are equally dangerous.

Until now, one of the main materials that protect against radiation is lead, but high levels of this component affects the nervous system and brain and can lead to death, according to experts from the World Health Organization (WHO). Therefore, the disposal of spent lead structures is a serious problem for the nuclear industry.

The new compound is made from epoxy resin filled with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles.

Oleg Tashlikov, co-author of the study, professor at the Department of Nuclear Power Plants and Renewable Energy Sources, Ural Federal University:

“Pure polymers do not attenuate x-rays and gamma radiation well, but if chemical elements with higher atomic numbers are added to them, their shielding ability can be significantly increased,” the scientist commented.

“Our material is particularly relevant when it comes to finding hard-to-reach spaces and complex shapes. Also epoxy stands out among all polymers due to its low cost and ease of production. Lead screens are better than our compound, but this is easily compensated by increasing the thickness of the structure,” says Tashlikov.

The study was conducted jointly with specialists from the Malaya Technological University and Isra University (Jordan). The results were published in the journal Radiation physics and chemistry.