Page 117 - The Miracle in the Atom

Power Of The Atom

Those who disbelieve say, 'The Hour will never come.' Say:
'Yes, by my Lord, it certainly will come!' He is the Knower
of the Unseen, Whom not even the weight of the smallest
particle eludes, either in the heavens or in the earth; nor is
there anything smaller or larger than that which is not in a
Clear Book. (Surah Saba': 3)

des very strongly with atoms or molecules that get in its way. This collision
may be a disaster for the delicate structure of the cell. The cell may die, or,
even if it recovers, it may start to grow in an uncontrolled fashion – which is
cancer – perhaps weeks, months, or years later.
Radiation is very intense in an area of 1,000 metres in diameter around
the centre of the explosion. Those who survive other fatal factors lose almost
all white cells in their blood, wounds appear on their skins, and all of them
die because of haemorrhages in a short period of time from a few days up to
two or three weeks. The effect of radiation on those farther from the point of
explosion varies. Those who are exposed to these harmful rays emitted by
the fireball at distances of 13, 16, and 22 km suffer from third, second, and
first degree burns respectively. Digestive problems and haemorrhages are
experienced less, but real disorders appear later: hair loss, skin burns, ana-
emia, sterility, miscarriages, giving birth to crippled or deformed babies. In
these cases, too, death is possible within a period from ten days to three
months. Even years later, sight disorders, leukaemia and radiation cancer
may develop. One of the greatest dangers of hydrogen bomb explosions
(another nuclear bomb of enormous destructive power caused by the fusion
of the nuclei of various hydrogen isotopes in the formation of helium nuclei)
is the entrance of radioactive dust into the body through respiration, digesti-
on and the skin. This dust causes the above-mentioned disorders depending
on the degree of contamination.
All these are caused by atoms, which we cannot even see with our eyes.
Atoms can form life just as they can destroy it. This property of the atom
shows us very clearly how helpless we are and how superior is Allah's power.

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