Friday, April 01, 2022

What happens if you put your head in a particle accelerator? Anatoly Bugorski

Long story short. The left half of Bugorski's face swelled up beyond recognition and, over the next several days, the skin started to peel, revealing the path that the proton beam had burned through parts of his face, his bone, and the brain tissue underneath. As it was believed that he had received far in excess of a fatal dose of radiation, Bugorski was taken to a clinic in Moscow where the doctors could observe his expected demise. 

However, Bugorski survived, completed his PhD, and continued working as a particle physicist.There was virtually no damage to his intellectual capacity, but the fatigue of mental work increased markedly. Bugorski completely lost hearing in the left ear, replaced by a form of tinnitus. The left half of his face was paralyzed due to the destruction of nerves. He was able to function well, except for occasional complex partial seizures and rare tonic-clonic seizures.