High Altitude Gamma Radiation - Are Canon dSLRs Affected?

Just watched a Kodak presentation over at NikonRumors and a statement was made about high altitude gamma radiation causing destructive charge build up on your sensor. Anyone have any evidence of this from your air travels?

http://photorumors.com …-on-a-plane-kills-pixels/

been on a ton of flights over the past yeah with my canon's and have not really notice any changes in the pixels. But that said, the video clip refers to cdd, not mos or cmos. It might make a difference. As video camera are mostly cdd.

Er, yeah! And what are these magic gamma rays that don't hurt film or people - only digital cameras? And how comes it doesn't affect any other electronics on the plane - like the computers that keep them up there?

I wonder if he was told these 'facts' on 1st April.

I'm more worried about the charge that builds up in my underwear on these trans pacific flights.

I fly at least once a month and have not seen a problem.

hollis_f wrote in post #12724075
Er, yeah! And what are these magic gamma rays that don't hurt film or people - only digital cameras? And how comes it doesn't affect any other electronics on the plane - like the computers that keep them up there?

I wonder if he was told these 'facts' on 1st April.

not quite magical, but cosmic gamma rays of varying energies constantly bombard the earth. film respond to the visible light spectrum. people are exposed to this as well, i.e. people in high altidutes vs sea level. You actually get a measurable radiation dose flying in an airplane as closer you are to space, i.e. the atomsphere blocks a lot of this. this can cause breaks in you dna, but normally these are repaired in the body.

other electronic would not be similarly affected, but would be more susceptible to magnetic type disturbances.

so... i would guess that if the "wrong" sensor was exposed to a burst of "right" energy gamma ray in the "right" manner, it could cause that sensor to malfunction or to be affected.

lilkngster wrote in post #12724288
film respond to the visible light spectrum.

Film responds to a lot more than just visible light - UV, X-rays and gamma radiation. That's why I had to wear a film badge when I used to work with a gamma emitter.

hollis_f wrote in post #12724442
Film responds to a lot more than just visible light - UV, X-rays and gamma radiation. That's why I had to wear a film badge when I used to work with a gamma emitter.

"Film" is not all the same.

Photo film, which I assumed you were referring in your first post, used/uses silver salts or some variant because of their sensitivity to visible spectrum of light. Dosimitry film badges uses a different emulsion which is why they are used for gamma rays, x rays, and beta particles i.e. in the setting of radiation. IR film used to be designed to absorb near the IR spectrum. etc etc.

hollis_f wrote in post #12724075
Er, yeah! And what are these magic gamma rays that don't hurt film or people - only digital cameras? And how comes it doesn't affect any other electronics on the plane - like the computers that keep them up there?

I wonder if he was told these 'facts' on 1st April.

Actually high energy neutrons, not gamma rays, are an issue for aircraft electronics. They are designed to cope with them. Flash memory like the cards in your camera is very unlikely to be affected, it only really causes a problem for RAM. I have never seen any test results for a CCD or CMOS sensor, but assuming that they are turned off I can't imagine why there would be a problem. The reason I know this, by the way, is that I am an electronics engineer and have spent most of my career designing computer systems and electronics for aircraft. We routinely deal with Single Event Upset, which is what we call an unexpected change of data in a computer memory caused by a high energy particle impact at high altitude. The aircraft electronics has mechanisms to detect and correct the error before it ever becomes a problem. I have never heard of gamma radiation being a particular problem for aircraft. I think it is more likely to affect spacecraft. The dose can't be very high as you are still well within the atmosphere.

lilkngster wrote in post #12724787
"Film" is not all the same.

Photo film, which I assumed you were referring in your first post, used/uses silver salts or some variant because of their sensitivity to visible spectrum of light. Dosimitry film badges uses a different emulsion which is why they are used for gamma rays, x rays, and beta particles i.e. in the setting of radiation. IR film used to be designed to absorb near the IR spectrum. etc etc.

Are you saying that photo film is not affected by gamma radiation?

No, photo film definitely can be affected by gamma rays, gamma rays were actually discovered using photographic plates. Flying on a few hours on the plane with your photo film will "expose" your film, but most of the time, the actual photo exposure will be a much higher "dose" of light, that you will not see anything the affect from the gamma ray exposure.

The concept of film is the same, expose to light to generate an "image". Photo film does not only selectively expose visible light and exclude everything else, as higher energy wavelenghts could also result in an exposure. Your dosimitry badge requires an ionizing radiation which causes the metallic salt to emit a light which is then recorded and used to calculate your exposure.

To answer your first question, gamma rays do "hurt" film and people. Mark Kemp answered your second question.

lilkngster wrote in post #12725349
To answer your first question, gamma rays do "hurt" film and people.

Apart from the special gamma rays referred to in this clip. He specifically states that they do not hurt either people or film. That's my main reason for calling shullbit.

hollis_f wrote in post #12724075
Er, yeah! And what are these magic gamma rays that don't hurt film or people - only digital cameras? And how comes it doesn't affect any other electronics on the plane - like the computers that keep them up there?

I wonder if he was told these 'facts' on 1st April.

Frank - there is an ongoing investigation in the aviation comunity as to the effects of this type of radiation on aircrew. Possibly physics rather than magic.

They use digital cameras on the International Space Station... It flies a bit higher than the average airplane and they don't seem to have trouble with their sensors

The image in this link was taken with a Nikon D2Xs --> http://www.space.com …docking-preparations.html