🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1993Jan8.165057.3965@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov> pjs@euclid.jpl.nasa.gov writes:
>In article <C0IADo.B1p@zoo.toronto.edu>, henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes:
>> The radiation hazard from plutonium 238 is insignificant; it's pretty much
>> a pure alpha emitter, and human skin stops alpha particles completely.  (A
>> sheet of paper will do likewise.)  You don't want to eat the stuff, but so
>> long as it stays put, no sweat.
>
>Somewhere in the recesses of my mind lies a memory of a scientist
>who offered to eat some plutonium if the journalist covering the
>event would eat the same amount of caffeine.  No takers, obviously,
>but does this mean that it would be safe to eat plutonium?  If it's
>inert it should be passed in due course with only the mucus coating
>the alimentary canal getting irradiated.
>

Edward Teller.  The problem with Pu-238 is long term exposure.  You
don't want to breathe in particulate plutonium and let it sit in your
lungs.  I think it was Feyman who describes holding a sphere of
plutonium in his hands and how warm it was due to alpha emissions.


--
Ed McCreary                                               ,__o
mccreary@sword.eng.hou.compaq.com                       _-\_<,
"If it were not for laughter, there would be no Tao."  (*)/'(*)