>>>> Uranium-235 has a halflife is 700 million years.
>>>
>>> U-235 isn't that dangerous, tho, unless you pile up enough to interact.
>>>
>>> What it also means is that if you spill 100 pounds of U-235 somewhere,
>>> it's going to take 700 million years for even 50 pounds of it to have
>>> emitted radiation. That's a very low level of radiation.
>>
>> How do you work that one out?
>
> Halflife is defined as "the time it takes for half of the original
> amount to degrade". So, it takes 700 millions years for half of your
> uranium's atoms to deckay, and thus, emit radiation. After 1400 millions
> years, 75% of the original amount will have deckayed.
> It apply to radioactive materials. It also apply to medication in your
> body, and many other things.

Are you saying there's some sort of relationship between the halflife of 
a substance and how much radiation it emits?

>>> Which tells you that it isn't *that* dangerous or there wouldn't be any
>>> life in the ground.
>>
>> It's also an extremely rare element. Not like a reactor core, which is
>> make out of pure Uranium...
>>
>
> A reactor core is NEVER "pure uranium".

It's far nearer to being pure than anything in nature.

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

Post a reply to this message