From: Alan J Fletcher
GM#1 and GM#2 are no longer detecting radiation from the Specimen, but are detecting the decay of K40 in the Mica window. So the the discovery is that the radiation from the specimen is doing "something" to K40 -- which decays with a half-life of 109 minutes. Does anyone know how or why carbon-14 was eliminated from consideration as the beta emitter? There is 10 times more carbon than potassium in the window, apparently - from the EDAX, and the half-life is shorter by a factor of nearly a million to one, meaning: less stable. OTOH the natural abundance of 14C is much less than 40K . If the new kind of radiation accelerated beta decay as one of its main features, then one might think that the less stable species (lowest half life) - 14C would be favored, even in lower percentage.
