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Watson, Lyall - The explosion of supernovae
Identifier
018494
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
Lyall Watson – Supernature
The normal amount of cosmic energy falling each year on the atmosphere of the earth is about 0.03 roentgen, but during the time that life has been on earth it has been exposed at least once to a short sharp dose of 2000 roentgen, about 4 times to doses of over 1,000 roentgen and perhaps 10 times to 500 roentgen.
The lethal dose for most laboratory animals is between 200 and 700 roentgen, but female mice can be completely sterilised by only 80 roentgen. So the explosion of supernovae has subjected the earth at least 15 times to showers of radiation strong enough to kill most life forms. Plant seeds are radiation resistant and marine life would be protected to some extent by water as the land is by the blanket of air, but these bouts of high radiation could well have been a significant factor in the evolution of life