Timeline for What is the first instance of a person gaining powers from radiation?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
17 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Apr 18, 2016 at 8:57 | comment | added | Holger | Now I know in which lab “Crazy Machines” is settled in. There should be a balloon and a gear-wheel somewhere between the glass of heavy water, the shoe box of U235 and the unshielded high voltage supply, then we are complete. Build a super hero in a chain reaction, player, you have 2 minutes… | |
| Apr 16, 2016 at 23:37 | comment | added | Bob Jarvis - Слава Україні | The "Greek God" look is...disturbing... | |
| Apr 16, 2016 at 22:39 | comment | added | Todd Wilcox | Where do you keep the heavy water? Oh I like to have about 12 fl. oz. handy in an ordinary drinking glass on the counter, for emergencies. | |
| Apr 16, 2016 at 22:24 | comment | added | user14111 | @Hypnosifl The comic book writers were probably sci-fi fans/writers and would have heard of stuff like atomic bombs & heavy water from science fiction. I think the general public would have been largely unaware of heavy water before 1945. You might impress a few science nerds by dropping "heavy water" in a comic book story. But why would you call it "hard water"? Everybody knows what that is. I bet the term "hard water" was even more familiar in 1940 than it is today. | |
| Apr 16, 2016 at 21:46 | comment | added | Hypnosifl | @user14111 - Good point, I see from the wiki article that although deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen, and heavy water is useful in nuclear reactors, it isn't itself radioactive. I suppose the plausibility of the theory that they thought it was radioactive depends on whether the writers would have heard about heavy water containing an isotope and would have previously heard the word "isotope" in the context of radioactive isotopes like radium--my guess is probably not, unless they were really into science. | |
| Apr 16, 2016 at 21:06 | comment | added | Adamant | But do the writers of the comic know that? | |
| Apr 16, 2016 at 20:58 | comment | added | user14111 | @Hypnosifl For one thing, heavy water is not radioactive. | |
| Apr 16, 2016 at 13:48 | comment | added | Hypnosifl | Nice find. One possibly ambiguous earlier case is Jay Garrick, the original Flash, who in 1940 was said to have gained his powers when he inhaled fumes from "hard water"--this actually just means water with extra mineral content, but it's possibly they were thinking of radioactive "heavy water", though a poster here claims 'At the time it was written, there had been reports that drinking "hard water" would speed up your reaction time, and it was one of the things "serious" athletes did to improve their performance.' | |
| Apr 16, 2016 at 8:40 | comment | added | Jeroen Mostert | I love how the U-235 is stored in what appears to be a precariously balanced shoe box. At least the exposed electrical generator had a warning sign on it... | |
| Apr 16, 2016 at 8:14 | history | edited | Adamant | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 16, 2016 at 8:07 | history | edited | Adamant | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 16, 2016 at 8:02 | comment | added | user14111 | That comic is available at Comic Book+; the "Atomic Man" story is on pp. 36-41. | |
| Apr 16, 2016 at 6:05 | history | edited | Adamant | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 16, 2016 at 5:52 | comment | added | Adamant | I guess I was interpreting "superhero" sort of narrowly. | |
| Apr 16, 2016 at 5:39 | history | edited | Adamant | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 16, 2016 at 5:29 | comment | added | Adamant | I'll add more detail if I can find a copy | |
| Apr 16, 2016 at 5:29 | history | answered | Adamant | CC BY-SA 3.0 |