European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 20, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Cosmic rays limit Many a time in space Isaac Asimov los Angeles times a l a meeting in february of the american association for the advancement of science doubt was cast upon the ability of human beings to live and work in space. The villains in the Case Are the cosmic rays. Cosmic rays Are produced by violent events in deep space such As the explosion of stars or the activity of Black holes. They consist of extremely energetic charged particles mostly protons that Speed through the emptiness of interstellar space and possibly even Between the galaxies. Their paths twist and curve As they pass through electromagnetic Fields and end up bombarding the Earth from All directions. These cosmic rays strike our atmosphere smashing their atoms and molecules and forming a secondary radiation that strikes Earth a surface and is so energetic that it passes through anything in its Way including human beings and buries itself in the Earth. While passing through the human body the radiation slams into molecules and damages them. Usually this damage is not significant and the body can repair it. Every once in a while however a cosmic Ray May strike a Gene file astronauts need More Protection before tackling longer assignments in space. And change its Structure producing a  this mutation can bring about a cancer or some other undesirable condition. However the Earth a atmosphere absorbs and weakens much of the cosmic Ray bombardment and renders it relatively harmless. The amount that reaches us is clearly not fatal since life has continued for billions of years without being noticeably endangered by cosmic rays. All this though depends on the Protection of the atmosphere. As you go higher less air is above you and the amount of cosmic rays you receive is increased. The difficulty arises when people move beyond the atmosphere and receive no Protection at All from cosmic rays. They get them full strength and in full Quantity. Of course astronauts who travelled to the Moon and Back or flew on the shuttle suffered no ill effects. But we Are talking of exposures of perhaps a week. Some russian cosmonauts have stayed in space for a year and have suffered considerable physiological changes their Bones lose Calcium and Muscles lose tone from living in Zero Gravity conditions. But what if we talk about a flight to Mars where the astronauts would remain in space for 1 v2 years what if we imagine people working on the Moon Over extended periods of time what if we imagine the building of space settlements Little Independent worlds in which human beings May wish to spend All their lives what is to be done people in space will have to be shielded. If spaceships and settlements Are enclosed in some Metal such As aluminium cosmic rays could saturate these metals and produce a Neutron radiation that would be just As harmful. Possibly material from the Moon could be compacted and layered on the outside of space vessels giving them the Protection of Rock though i done to know if that too could be saturated by cosmic rays. One space physicist says that water would be an effective Barrier. He visualizes a kind of double Wall with water in Between. At any rate it is a problem that must be solved before Man can spend More time in space. At a glance Bulgaria size 44,365 Square Miles about the size of Ohio population 9,037,000 1989 estimate main languages bulgarian turkish and greek currency lev not officially traded in West travel restrictions passport and visa required. Tourist visa valid up to 30 Days. Longer stays require a letter of invitation. Transit visas available for up to 30 hours. Overview Bulgaria is divided into four regions the danubian Plain with Fertile soil the Balkan mountains the thracian Plain with fruit Trees vegetable Fields and vineyards and the Rhodope mountains. The capital Sofia has a 2,000-year history and lots of byzantine architecture left from the Days when it was a Crossroads Between Europe and the East. Black sea resorts draw visitors from Spring through fall. It s a fact its important to remember that in Bulgaria a nod of the head Means a no a while a shake Means ? i was there a scientific basis for searching for drowning victims by floating bread containing quicksilver or firing cannons Over the water As the townspeople in Mark Twain so Huckleberry finn Quot did a the belief that quicksilver or Mercury would make bread float to a Point Over a submerged body was widely held in a does the wind chill Factor affect inanimate objects a no. The formula is Only a rough approximation of the perception of the Cooling effect of wind and anything that Isnit a warm blooded creature a pipes lakes etc., a would be affected Britain Twain scholars say. It was apparently based on hopeful etymology concerning the biblical a bread of life and a Quick Quot or a a living Silver so called because of the flowing form of Mercury. There were reports of the method being used in the 19th Century but no scientific evidence that it worked. However Thomas Tenney editor of the Mark Twain journal said that scholars had found a pseudo scientific rationale for firing Cannon or guns a but no evidence that it worked either. It was believed the concussion of gunfire would break the Gall bladder and cause the body to float. Only by the actual air temperature and the ability to radiate absorb and transmit heat. The wind chill formula devised by Paul Sipel a Polar explorer defines the perceived temperature As the air temperature in degrees fahrenheit minus 1 Xhu time the wind velocity in Miles per hour. 10sunday