Always be ready to deal with the fallout.
"Whoa-oh, whoa
I'm radioactive, radioactive"
I'm radioactive, radioactive"
— Imagine Dragons, "Radioactive"
This index lists tropes about radiation (usually of the ionizing variety
), its applications, and its consequences.
For tropes about radioactive weapons, see Atomic Hate and Ranged Energy Attack Tropes. See also Energy.
Specifically about radiation:
Related:
Categories:
Useful Notes:
- Artistic License – Nuclear Physics — Covers most Artistic License examples having to do with radiation.
- Going Critical — Nuclear meltdown = explosion.
- Instant Cooldown — Nuclear reactors/bombs return immediately to normal conditions once explosion is averted.
- Dirty Bomb — A non-nuclear weapon is laced with radiation.
- EMP — A weapon which uses ionizing radiation to disable electronics.
- Fantastic Radiation Shielding — A fictional means of deflecting radiation.
- Anti-Radiation Drug — A fictional means of curing someone exposed to radiation.
- Fast-Killing Radiation: Nuclear radiation killing people faster than what is possible in real life.
- Hiroshima as a Unit of Measure — Radiation levels are typically compared to those released by the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. (Also covers other comparisons.)
- Nuclear Mutant — Radiation creates monsters.
- Nuclear Nullifier — A new development removes nuclear deterrence as an option.
- Radiation-Immune Mutants — Once you've been exposed to enough radiation, it can't hurt you anymore.
- Radiation-Induced Superpowers — Radiation gives you superhuman abilities.
- Sickly Green Glow — Radioactive materials glow green.
- Transmutation: The conversion of one chemical element or an isotope into another chemical element.
Often associated with radiation:
- Applied Phlebotinum — Radiation is a common choice of technical-sounding phlebotinum.
- Phlebotinum du Jour — A particularly popular choice in the '50s and '60s, as well as immediately after its discovery in the late 1800s.
- Toxic Phlebotinum — As in real life, it's often dangerous as well as useful.
- Atomic Superpower: Characters possess the ability to generate and control radiation.
- Containment Clothing — A radioactive character wears gear to protect others.
- Contamination Situation — Radiation exposure leads to Character Development.
- Decontamination Chamber — A checkpoint room sometimes used for eliminating radioactive contamination.
- Fallout Shelter Fail — A bunker (often) intended to keep out radiation . . . doesn't.
- Fantasy Metals — Fictional metals are sometimes radioactive.
- Post-Apocalyptic Gas Mask — Gas masks are frequently worn in radioactive post-apocalyptic landscapes.
- Green Rocks — The effects of radiation are often inconsistent within a work.
- Harmful to Touch — Touching a radioactive object will hurt you.
- Hazmat Suit — Ominous-looking protective garb frequently worn when radiation is about.
- Kaiju — Giant, destructive monsters that are very commonly created or empowered by radiation.
- Kryptonite Factor — Superpower-defeating materials (including the Trope Namer) are frequently radioactive.
- Made of Explodium — Radioactive = prone to combust with no provocation.
- Mutagenic Goo — Radioactive ooze that can instantly mutate whatever it touches.
- Phlebotinum-Handling Equipment — Equipment designed to safely handle dangerous (sometimes radioactive) materials.
- Poisonous Person — People who have been exposed to high levels of radiation are often portrayed as becoming radioactive themselves.
- Polluted Wasteland — Radiation is often one of the dangers in these landscapes.
- Powered Armor — Some powered armor suits use radiation.
- Power Source — As in real life, radioactivity in fiction is often used to generate power.
- Perilous Power Source — It is also portrayed as a dangerous phenomenon.
- Sensor Suspense — Since radiation is usually invisible, the sound of a Geiger counter or similar instrument is frequently used to indicate its presence.
- Sterility Plague — Radiation is known to interfere with reproduction in real animals, and it is sometimes the cause of these in fiction.
- Superpower Meltdown — When someone loses control of their powers, the equivalent of a nuclear explosion results.
- Toxic, Inc. — A company that dumps large amount of radioactive waste.
- Walking Wasteland — Someone who is radioactive might have the ability to destroy anything they touch.
