InScience advises: The Ray Cat Solution
In 2016 InScience screened the short film The Ray Cat Solution, which can now be watched again on our website. The film provides an innovative answer to a problem that has not yet been solved: how can we warn future generations about the dangers of radioactive waste?
There are 442 nuclear power plants in operation worldwide, which together produce about 10% of all electricity in the world. The production process produces waste that remains radioactive for tens of thousands of years, and is therefore safely stored in the ground. But how do we ensure that this waste is stored safely into the distant future? Warning symbols or texts are not a valid option, because it is highly questionable whether they can still be read in tens of thousands of years.
A possible solution to this problem was formulated in the 1980s, and it provides a surprising answer to this question: genetically engineered cats that change color in the presence of radioactive radiation. This film takes a closer look at this wondrous idea, and is both an informative documentary and an ode to imagination.