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Re: population growth & physics ed



At 09:53 PM 7/16/96 -0700, you wrote:
. . . As a physicist you should know
that burning fossil fuels will *reduce* the amount of C14 in the
atmosphere by a tiny amount, and you should know why. It's physics,
after all!

Leigh

OK, I'll bite. How can burning fossil fuels *reduce* the amount of C14
in the atmosphere? I can see where it would reduce the proportion of
C14, since the carbon released will have most of its C14 decayed, but
how is the actual amount reduced?

By the way, C14 isn't the only radiation released into the atmosphere
by burning fossil fuels. If you ever toured a coal power plant, you
have seen radiation danger signs all over the place. This is because
the trace amounts of radioactive elements present in coal go right into
the environment when the coal is pulverized and burned. Coal power plants
emit significantly more radiation into the atmosphere than do nuclear
power plants.

Stanley J. McCaslin Inet: mccaslin@pscosf.peru.edu
Assistant Professor, Computer Science Phone:402/872-2208
Peru State College, Peru, NE 68421 Home: 402/872-7595