Lois Lane’s next dress

Published May 12, 2020

Using lead as a radiation shield is so old-school. North Carolina State University researchers think they can bring it into the 21st century. They’ve come up with a “polymer compound embedded with bismuth trioxide particles” that’s quick and easy to make and — most importantly when you’re thinking about space travel* — much lighter than lead.
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Curses, foiled again
“We have determined that the compound is effective at shielding gamma rays, is lightweight and is strong. We are working to further optimize this technique to get the best performance from the material.”
* And who isn’t thinking about space travel?