In Reply to: Flight delay story posted by balipeace on Friday, 6. January 2006 at 17:47 Bali Time:
Quorw from article on A.R.M by Qinetiq.
There is growing concern about the effects of radiation in our atmosphere and its effects on aircraft flight crews and avionics. Highly energetic cosmic rays and solar flare particles can penetrate the Earth's atmosphere generating cascades of secondary particles which can induce bit-flips in computer chips and even permanent failure of some microelectronics devices. At typical aircraft altitudes, where the intensity of the radiation is approximately three-hundred times greater than at sea-level, radiobiological effects on frequent flyers (particularly flight crews), has led to the introduction of EU legislation requiring companies to estimate or monitor cumulative dose of employees at risk.
Paul