Richard Goodwin wrote:
If a radioactive substance is moved from one place, e.g. in the
ground, to another place, e.g., in a smoke detector, how is that
"adding" to it?
All the radioactive matter on earth is somewhere right now. When we
use it, we move it from wherever it is to some place else. We don't
create it.
You are mistaken. Am 241 for example is not naturally occurring, it has
a half life of slightly over 400 years. It is manufactured by the
following sequence in a nuclear reactor:
*
U-238 + neutron => U-239
*
U-239 by beta decay => Np-239
*
Np-239 by beta decay =>Pu-239
*
Pu-239 + neutron => Pu-240
*
Pu-240 + neutron => Pu-241
This will decay both in the reactor and subsequently to form Am-241
which can then be extracted chemically.
Actually, you could make an argument that by mining radioactive
substances and concentrating them into reactors, bombs, or other
"products", you are making the world a bit safer, since it is easier
to avoid exposure to reactors, bombs, etc, than to the same substances
all spread out in the ground.
Nuclear reactors produce significantly more radioactive products than
they consume. For instance a breeder reactor will take depleted
non-radioactive uranium and convert it to radioactive plutonium.
I never have understood quite why people get all wrapped around the
axle about some things. For example, we take aluminum out of the
ground, where it is one of the more abundant elements in the earth's
crust, and we make beer cans out of it. But if we then put that
aluminum back in the ground, e.g., by throwing empty beer cans into
the dump, people get all in a lather about pollution. Why? We are
just putting the aluminum back where we found it.
Because it is in a different form, it is bauxite or another mineral when
we take it out, it is metal when we put it back.
And "wasting water". People get all wound up about using too much
water. But it's not like it gets used up. It's still there after
whatever we use it for. And it comes back to us from rain, etc. Why
all the furor?
In some areas the water is being used faster than it can be
replenished., ground water levels are dropping, and in some cases this
is causing earthquakes, but of more concern is that at some point the
level will drop to where there is insufficient water for the demand.
This can be fixed once they figure out how to desalinate ocean water
easily and efficiently. This can theoretically be done by chelating the
salts to a magnetic substance (like an iron or cobalt cage) then pulling
it from the water with a strong magnetic field, but the science of that
has not been worked out yet since nano technology is still at its infancy.
Yeah, I know, there can be local shortages, but overall the total
amount of water on earth doesn't really change, does it?
No, but the amount of potable water does.
Marshall
Dick
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* Bob Banever <[email protected]>
*To:* [email protected]
*Sent:* Thu, April 22, 2010 8:58:34 PM
*Subject:* Re: CS>A closer look at americium 241 from a smoke detector
Alan,
Yes of course. Best not to add to it. I'm sure you would agree.
Cheers.
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Alan Jones <mailto:[email protected]>
*To:* [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
*Sent:* Thursday, April 22, 2010 4:37 PM
*Subject:* Re: CS>A closer look at americium 241 from a smoke detector
Better go live in a lead box, even the natural world is full of it.
On Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 6:12 PM, Bob Banever
<[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
No amount of radiation is trivial. No level is safe and all
ionizing radiation causes damage to DNA.
--
Alan Jones
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to
the States respectively, or to the people." (Tenth Amendment to
the US Constitution)
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