Any scientists here?

[kenny1999]

could food pass through airport or railway security check (e.g. x-ray or other devices?) be altered, affected, ionized or polluted etc?

 

[dragnlaw]

NO, with the exception of a glass of milk which would probably be spilt.

that being said, which type of food are you trying to sneak thru?

But I'm not a scientist.

 

[pepperhead212]

Probably wouldn't be damaged in any way, but if anything is found hidden, by x-ray, dogs, or other method, the luggage, or whatever it is in, will be opened, and many things will be thrown out, as countless things cannot be brought into this country (not sure of where you would be taking what), due to agriculture - diseases and insects can be brought in on many foods. Of course, things like diseases and invasive insects usually are brought in on huge food shipments, not people like you and me! Through the years, some of the foods that are brought in became irradiated on a regular basis, which does kill some seeds, but x-rays wouldn't do this to your food, unless the x-rays were very powerful!

So, what would you be trying to ship? Or are you just travelling in your own country?

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I am not a scientist, but am an electrical engineer with training in RF, EMF, Light theory, radiation theory, including x-rays, masers, lasers, etc.

X-rays are photons emitted at a certain wavelength (10 picometers to 10 nanometers). At this wavelength, the photons carry considerable energy, and can pass through many substances, such as soft, organic tissue, plastics, etc. They then strike a film, much like old camera film, which is sensitive tothe X-ray light spectrum, creating an image on that film, or in the case of airport security, the photons strike an array of light sensitive diodes, creating millions of pixels to create an image.

Substances such as metal, and bone block the transmission of the photons, creating recognizable shadows shadows, such as a chicken bone, or hand gun.

Since a chunk of meat, or herbs, and veggies won't be found with the x-rays, other detection devices that can sniff very small amounts of controlled substances, and explosives, are employed. Even dogs, are used for further detection.

The x-rays do not make a substance radioactive. The danger of x-rays, and the reason x-ray techs wear lead aprons, and stand behind leaded glass is because as the x-rays pass through the body, they can disrupt DNA and RNA in the cells, resulting in abnormal growth, or cancer.

Safe exposure limits have been established. The exposure that you get from a medical x-ray is minimal. An unprotected x-ray tech, who takes many x-rays every day, would quickly exceed safe exposure limits.

So, the answer to your question, "could food pass through airport or railway security check (e.g. x-ray or other devices?) be altered, affected, ionized or polluted etc?", is no. The x-rays won't pollute, spoil, or degrade the food. In fact, gamma rays, another even more powerful electro-magnetic photon wavelength, is used o sterilize foods, and kill insects, and other pests. gamma radiation of meat that is sealed in a air, ant water tight container will make raw meat shelf stable. It isn't often used as gamma emitters are pricy, and people just don't understand that the end result is not radioactive.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[taxlady]

The mention of the types of things that get detected at airports with X-rays reminded me of something. I was travelling to visit my sister. She is not a coffee drinker. The guys manning the X-ray monitor were pointing and calling other people over to look at the scan of my luggage. Everyone, including me, was having a good giggle. This is what was in my luggage that they could see on the scan:

 

[kenny1999]

I am not a scientist, but am an electrical engineer with training in RF, EMF, Light theory, radiation theory, including x-rays, masers, lasers, etc.

X-rays are photons emitted at a certain wavelength (10 picometers to 10 nanometers). At this wavelength, the photons carry considerable energy, and can pass through many substances, such as soft, organic tissue, plastics, etc. They then strike a film, much like old camera film, which is sensitive tothe X-ray light spectrum, creating an image on that film, or in the case of airport security, the photons strike an array of light sensitive diodes, creating millions of pixels to create an image.

Substances such as metal, and bone block the transmission of the photons, creating recognizable shadows shadows, such as a chicken bone, or hand gun.

Since a chunk of meat, or herbs, and veggies won't be found with the x-rays, other detection devices that can sniff very small amounts of controlled substances, and explosives, are employed. Even dogs, are used for further detection.

The x-rays do not make a substance radioactive. The danger of x-rays, and the reason x-ray techs wear lead aprons, and stand behind leaded glass is because as the x-rays pass through the body, they can disrupt DNA and RNA in the cells, resulting in abnormal growth, or cancer.

Safe exposure limits have been established. The exposure that you get from a medical x-ray is minimal. An unprotected x-ray tech, who takes many x-rays every day, would quickly exceed safe exposure limits.

So, the answer to your question, "could food pass through airport or railway security check (e.g. x-ray or other devices?) be altered, affected, ionized or polluted etc?", is no. The x-rays won't pollute, spoil, or degrade the food. In fact, gamma rays, another even more powerful electro-magnetic photon wavelength, is used o sterilize foods, and kill insects, and other pests. gamma radiation of meat that is sealed in a air, ant water tight container will make raw meat shelf stable. It isn't often used as gamma emitters are pricy, and people just don't understand that the end result is not radioactive.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

Thanks. My thought is, undoubtedly if someone goes through the x-ray he is somehow adversely affected, even negligible for one single time, human is organic, i.e. composed of carbon, and I think many foods are organic as well, if x-ray will affect human adversely, why not affect food too?

 

[taxlady]

Thanks. My thought is, undoubtedly if someone goes through the x-ray he is somehow adversely affected, even negligible for one single time, human is organic, i.e. composed of carbon, and I think many foods are organic as well, if x-ray will affect human adversely, why not affect food too?

X-rays can damage DNA. That can possibly have consequences for a living organism that is growing and functioning. The food is not growing or functioning. Damage to the DNA of food that is already harvested won't make any difference to the quality of the food.

 

[kenny1999]

X-rays can damage DNA. That can possibly have consequences for a living organism that is growing and functioning. The food is not growing or functioning. Damage to the DNA of food that is already harvested won't make any difference to the quality of the food.

OK. Understood. Thanks

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

NO, with the exception of a glass of milk which would probably be spilt.

Well, for God's sake, don't cry over it!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Thanks. My thought is, undoubtedly if someone goes through the x-ray he is somehow adversely affected, even negligible for one single time, human is organic, i.e. composed of carbon, and I think many foods are organic as well, if x-ray will affect human adversely, why not affect food too?

Just sos ya knows, all life on Earth is carbon based, i.e. organic. However pertaining to food, organic has another meaning, that is, grown with no man-made fertilizers, pesticides, anti-biotics, or genetic engineering. An organic tomato, for instance, is a tomato grown in soil which is fortified by manure, peat moss, untreated saw dust, mulch, and maybe carbon ash. Worms leave casing that are rich in nitrogen. Beans, and peas fix nitrogen into the soil, and so provide nutrients for the tomato, if grow with them. The tomato plant is protected from destructive pests by wasps, dragon flies, and other insects which prey on the harmful ones.

Spiders, wasps, dragon flies, praying mantis, all are good for you garden. Grasshoppers, not so much. They like to eat your plants.

Summary, biologically speaking. organic means carbon based. When speaking of horticulture, and animal husbandry, organic means to grow as close to what you would find in the wild as possible.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[GotGarlic]

Just sos ya knows, all life on Earth is carbon based, i.e. organic. However pertaining to food, organic has another meaning, that is, grown with no man-made fertilizers, pesticides, anti-biotics, or genetic engineering.

This is a common misconception, but organic farmers are permitted to use man-made pesticides; they just have to be made from natural sources, which doesn't necessarily mean that they're safer. They're often more toxic and less effective than the synthetics that replaced them in conventional farming. That means they're less environmentally friendly, too - it takes significantly more land to get the same yield as conventional farmers do.

 

[blissful]

Well, for God's sake, don't cry over it!

You enhance lives. And I totally enjoy it.