In case of a rainy radioactive day ...

LochNESS

Anyone ever stack bars from 3-mile island?

Geiger counters for sale http://r.ebay.com/GIk1AC

Just funny seeing these among his numismatic wares.

JohnnyCache

Same is true for the Japan disaster. In fact, probably more so, given that the Japanese plant was not as isolated as three mile island was, in relation to nearby residential homes. Also there wasn't an issue with a tidal wave at three mile island.
I bet there are PM's that were recovered from the general area that could have been hot.


JC



edited for spelling - because I can't spell and I'm a little AR.

element159

Uranium bullion?

LochNESS

<< <i>Uranium bullion? >>


The future of stacking, after we deplete Earth's reserves of palladium?

PS: what is element #159, anyway?

LochNESS

It seems we have two elements with 159 neutrons ...

Ununniulium and my favorite of the two,

Lawrencium

joefro

An element's atomic number is based on its number of protons, not neutrons.

derryb

<< <i>Same is true for the Japan disaster. In fact, probably more so, given that the Japanese plant was not as isolated as three mile island was, in relation to nearby residential homes. Also there wasn't an issue with a tidal wave at three mile island.
I bet there are PM's that were recovered from the general area that could have been hot.


JC



edited for spelling - because I can't spell and I'm a little AR. >>


It would take very long term and very close exposure to a strong radioactive source for something that is capable of becoming permanently irratiated (such as metal) to actually become radioative. Exposing something to radiation short term does not necessarily make the item radioactive (personal x-rays, food that has been irradiated to kill germs, etc.). The concern with any nuclear incident is the immediate exposure of people to extremely high levels of radiation and the subsequent contamination from radioactive dust particles that settle on people and things. While the sudden blast of high level exposure kills living tissue, contamination is normally low level can be easily washed down the drain and normally poses no risk once removed and properly disposed of. I speak from personal experience as a former nuclear inspector who has been intentionally exposed to controlled levels and accidentally contaminated by both radioactive water and dust particles.

element159

<< <i>PS: what is element #159, anyway? >>


My username is kind of a combination of elements, which I collect, and one of my favorite colors, Pantone 159.
There isn't (yet) a real element 159. I'd want some, except it would be highly radioactive. So I'd need some of these Geiger counters

LochNESS

<< <i>An element's atomic number is based on its number of protons, not neutrons. >>


True, but those two have 159 neutrons. Did you click on those links???

element159

<< <i>True, but those two have 159 neutrons. Did you click on those links??? >>


I did, but actually, the number of neutrons that an element has is not fixed - for each different neutron count, there is a different isotope of the element (determined by the proton count).
Some elements (like gold) do have only one isotope that occurs in nature (and this a fixed neutron count) but even these have radioactive isotopes with a different number of neutrons.

LochNESS

Now THAT I did not know. I knew neutrons did not dictate periodic table #s but I didn't know each isotope had a potentially different neutron count (neutrino?). Thanks for that explanation. And here I was thinking I'd found a possible explanation for your username I like the real reason, combo. Is it a real molecule? Or one you made up? I'll have to ask my wife to pull up a pantone chart. I know what pantone colors are but I don't have their numbers memorized.

BTW my favorite element is #30, Zinc.

element159

Hint: That particular color is a big clue as to where I went to school.

I just got myself a nicely machined rod of zinc for my collection. I hadn't had a particularly nice sample of that one yet, which was a glaring hole in my set.

LochNESS

Cool! Post a pic! I have a rod of magnesium, it was intended to be a fire starter for camping trips but I just thought it was cool.

Do you have a display box of some kind? I heard a story on NPR a couple weeks ago, possibly This American Life, and they were talking about a guy who had the entire Periodic Table in a box in his living room. It sounded pretty cool. He had glass viles for the gasses.

edited to add: U TX Austin? please don't say Tennessee...

element159

<< <i>Do you have a display box of some kind? I heard a story on NPR a couple weeks ago, possibly This American Life, and they were talking about a guy who had the entire Periodic Table in a box in his living room. It sounded pretty cool. He had glass viles for the gasses.

edited to add: U TX Austin? please don't say Tennessee... >>


I have a shelf with vials with samples of all the elements in them. It is basically complete, excepting those that are not available. (I.e. plutonium). I quite like it.

Yes, UT Austin. Tennessee is a different (wrong ) color orange, not 159.