• Question: Is it possible to take an object damaged by radiation and turn it COMPLETELY back to as it was?

    Asked by anon-200231 to Leigh on 7 Mar 2019.
    • Photo: Leigh Kesler

      Leigh Kesler answered on 7 Mar 2019:

      It depends on how COMPLETE you want the transformation to be. When radiation damages material, the first thing that happens is atoms are moved from their original positions, which means you have extra atoms in the material and a bunch of holes. Depending on the material, the type of radiation, the temperature, and a whole host of other conditions, the atoms and holes will move around in different ways. On a very simple level, if you heat the material up, the atoms and holes will recombine and the damage is “erased,” but you never truly restore things just as they were before.

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