Re: Radioactive SparkPlugs

["Dr. William Newbolt" <NewboltW@madison.acad.wlu.edu>]

> Date:          Tue, 10 Feb 1998 09:16:56 CST6CDT
> Reply-to:      phys-l@mailer.uwf.edu
> From:          "Steven T. Ratliff" <str@nwc.edu>
> To:            phys-l@atlantis.uwf.edu
> Subject:       Re: Radioactive SparkPlugs

> On 1/30/98 Tim Sullivan wrote:
> [.................]
> > Dose from gammas goes up as R^2, so the time to
> > receive a significant dose goes down fast as you start
> > handling it up close. If it was designed to ionize air,
> > that is more effectively accomplished  with betas. That
> > raises the possiblity that the source may be unsealed
> > which increases the risk of spreading the material
> > around, or ingesting it. Also, that means that the total
> > dose will increase much faster than R^2 as you get 
> > close to handle it.
>
> Why in this case will the dose increase much faster than
> R^2?
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Steven T. Ratliff
> Associate Professor of Physics
> Northwestern College
> 3003 Snelling Av. N.
> Saint Paul, MN  55113-1598
>
> Internet:  stratliff@nwc.edu (or str@nwc.edu)
As I understand what he is saying it is the following:  If 
the source is largely beta radiations a lot of it will be 
absorbed in the air if you are a fair distance away. This 
will make the effective fall-off in the counting rate more 
rapid that 1/(r*r).                WBN
Barlow Newbolt
Department of Physics and Engineering
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, VA 24450
Telephone and Phone Mail:  540-463-8881
Fax: 540-463-8884
e-mail: NewboltW@madison.acad.wlu.edu

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                                          Neils Bohr