Anatoli Bugorski and the Proton Ray of Doom

"The Man Who Stuck His Head Inside a Particle Accelerator"
Neatorama (October 5, 2008)

"So with all the recent news about the Large Hadron Collider, many of you may have this nagging question: what, exactly, would happen if you stick your head in the particle accelerator?

"Well, actually, we know the answer to that because someone did stick his head into a particle accelerator. Here’s the story of Anatoli Bugorski:..."

According to the story, Anatoli Bugorski stuck his head in a powered-up particle accelerator when he was 36. His timing could have been better, since a proton beam went through his head. Instead of dying, as doctors expected, he lived for many years. The left side of his face was paralyzed, he had seizures, and could only frown on one side - but for someone with a zapped brain, that's doing pretty well.

I wasn't sure about the story, but Anatoli Bugorski seems to be a real person, with a sort of claim to fame. Either that, or quite a few outfits have been copying from the same bogus source. It's possible, you know. Me, I think it sounds plausible, but can't be at all sure. A resource close to the 1978 incident is in Russian - a language I don't know.

Articles about Anotoli and the Proton Beam:

• "The Future Ruins of the Nuclear Age "
  Wired (December, 1997)
• "Hit by a Particle Accelerator Beam "
  Forgetomori (September 16, 2008)

'And the moral of this story is' - don't poke your head inside a particle accelerator, unless you're really, really sure the safeties are working.

The upcoming full-scale test of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) - followed shortly, some seem to believe, but the end of the world - may bring Anatoli Bugorski back into the public eye for a while.

More posts about CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC):

• "LHC Peril! Large Hadron Collider Black Hole Will Eat Earth!! - or, Not"
  (January 27, 2009)
• "CERN's Large Hadron Collider Goes Full Circuit"
  (September 10, 2008)
• "Large Hadron Collider - Tests Still Going Well "
  (August 26, 2008)
• "CERN's Large Hadron Collider: the Proton Beam Failsafe "
  (August 22, 2008)
• "Large Hadron Collider - the Countdown Continues "
  (July 6, 2008)
• "Large Hadron Collider - Huge Research Tool "
  (June 28, 2008)
• "CERN Large Hadron Collider: Photos "
  (March 20, 2008)
• "Photos of Five Cool Research Facilities"
  (January 5, 2008)

More:

• "CERN's Large Hadron Collider: A List of Posts "