Why do we associate nuclear radiation with a green glow? ( kbin.social )
So I just saw the YouTube video someone posted that showed nuclear reactors starting up, and the first thing I noticed was that they all glowed a very bright, pretty blue. I'm probably an idiot, but I was honestly expecting green, because of many years of dramatized depictions in popular media.
These are probably dumb questions, but:
- Why is it blue? As in, what's actually glowing in there, and why do we see it that way?
and
- Why do all the movies and comic books and video games go with green instead? Where did that come from?
![](https://kbin.pithyphrase.net/media/cache/resolve/entry_thumb/e2/90/e2909530e9c3423a88eea117408d217d511cf19af46d907c2dc739dc0b6087cb.png)