Re: DINOSAUR CANCER -Reply

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

In a message dated 96-01-24 11:55:21 EST, HORTONS@EM.AGR.CA (Scott Horton)
writes:

>Most neutrinos are not even halted by the earth itself, but pass right thru
>it. A few can be stopped, but very few, which makes neutrino detectors
>very difficult. Maybe the popular press got this wrong, and they really
>meant neutrons? This confusion has happened before.
>
>

I haven't seen the paper, but I bet the idea is that within 20 ly of a
supernova, the neutrino flux would still be so great that they would cause a
distinct increase in the number of radiation-induced cancers. Supernovae
radiate _most_ of their energy in the form of neutrinos generated during core
collapse; the bright lights and fireworks that we actually see is only the
visible-light _residue_ of the supernova explosion. If you were on a planet
orbiting a supernova at a distance of, say, 500 million km, the _neutrino_
flux alone would kill you well before the expanding supernova photosphere
reached you.