“Unraveling the Mystery: How a Proton Beam Accident Could Unlock Secrets to Radiation’s Deadly Impact on the Human Brain”

On July 13, 1978, a peculiar incident occurred in the world of science that could easily double as the stuff of superhero origin stories. 36-year-old Soviet scientist Anatoli Bugorski was diligently working at the Institute for High Energy Physics, surrounded by the awe-inspiring machinery of the U-70 synchrotron, a nuclear particle accelerator boasting record-breaking beam energy—think the ultimate power surge. But things took a wild turn when Bugorski leaned a little too close to check on a malfunction, accidentally exposing himself to a proton beam so powerful it left him with a flash of light brighter than a thousand suns! Imagine that! He was hit with an incredible dose of radiation, leaving many experts stunned, as he somehow managed to survive. The aftermath would raise eyebrows and question the very limits of human resilience. So, what does it take to be hit by a beam that could obliterate most, yet walk away—albeit a bit worse for wear? Buckle up, because this tale is as incredible as it gets! LEARN MORE.

On 13 July, 1978, 36-year-old Soviet scientist Anatoli Bugorski was working for the Institute for High Energy Physics on a device called the U-70 synchrotron.

This was a nuclear particle accelerator that at time of construction held the world record for beam energy, meaning that it could generate the beam with the highest energy in the world.

While that record has since been surpassed, there is one person who was hit with that powerful beam and survived – and we’ve already told you the name and date it happened.

The path the beam took through his head (Public Domain)

As for how it happened, Bugorski leaned into the device to check a piece of malfunctioning equipment and didn’t realise that the safety mechanism wasn’t functioning.

The scientist was hit in the head with a proton beam and saw ‘a flash brighter than a thousand suns’, though seemingly didn’t feel pain from what had happened.

The parts of his head hit by the beam were exposed to between 200,000 to 300,000 roentgens of radiation, which is many, many times above a dose that should be lethal.

Despite being hit with a massive amount of radiation right to the head, he was alive, and in the days that followed, the left side of his face swelled up and his skin started to peel off.

Doctors could also see the path the beam had taken through his skin, skull and brain and expected him to die at some point over the next few weeks, but instead he continued to survive.

According to Wired, the path through the man’s head continued to burn, resulting in nerve damage that paralysed the scientist on the left side of his face.

The control room of the particle accelerator (Wikimedia Commons)

While he would occasionally have seizures, those were the only major signs of taking a proton beam full of enough lethal radiation to kill many men to the face.

The paralysed left side of his face also didn’t age so much compared to the right side, and when he concentrated, wrinkles would only form on the right side of his face.

He said: “This is, in effect, an unintended test of proton warfare. I am being tested. The human capacity for survival is being tested.”

During the 90s, he expressed an interest in leaving Russia and moving west where he could be studied further, but didn’t have the money to move.

Incredibly, despite having a proton beam shot through his head the retired scientist seems to still be alive.

Despite his longevity we wouldn’t recommend being hit with a proton beam, your own experience may be very different.