The described impact of one of those particles got me thinking… I wonder how many “ghostly” encounters have been recorded in history that could be attributed to one of these particles actually hitting someone? I’ve seen several things on TV where the recorded sensation was like being punched in the gut, or ‘god’ tapping someone on the shoulder and driving them forward. However I’m a bit confused from the article – I’m not sure if this particle would travel right through you since it’s subatomic, or if it would actually feel like something hit you. Still, it’s fun to ponder.
These particles split into a crap ton of lower energy ones when they hit the edge of the atmosphere, nothing that makes it to humans has enough energy to be felt, even if they interact with you. (they probably won’t)
I’ve seen a Veritasium video about this where he said you can see flashes of light if these particles hit your retinas while your eyes are closed.
Apparently astronauts experience this a lot
The described impact of one of those particles got me thinking… I wonder how many “ghostly” encounters have been recorded in history that could be attributed to one of these particles actually hitting someone? I’ve seen several things on TV where the recorded sensation was like being punched in the gut, or ‘god’ tapping someone on the shoulder and driving them forward. However I’m a bit confused from the article – I’m not sure if this particle would travel right through you since it’s subatomic, or if it would actually feel like something hit you. Still, it’s fun to ponder.
These particles split into a crap ton of lower energy ones when they hit the edge of the atmosphere, nothing that makes it to humans has enough energy to be felt, even if they interact with you. (they probably won’t)
I’ve seen a Veritasium video about this where he said you can see flashes of light if these particles hit your retinas while your eyes are closed.
Apparently astronauts experience this a lot
They do, because there is very little atmosphere to shield them from it.
Ah well, it would have been an interesting explanation for ghost stories.