In reply to Eric Walker's message of Tue, 3 Dec 2013 19:42:02 -0800: Hi, [snip] >On Tue, Dec 3, 2013 at 12:56 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > >Sounds pretty good doesn't it? However consider the fact that gamma emitting >> radioisotopes are common, even in solids, so apparently the coupling >> mechanism >> that might allow the energy to be transferred to the neighbouring >> electrons is >> missing. :( >> > >Very astute observation. > >Consider a metal, a proportion of which is a radioisotope. I have several >questions: > > - How do we know that gammas that are emitted from the metal come from > the bulk?
Surely that depends on the distribution of the radioisotope within the metal? Since you created this hypothetical substance, it's up to you to say whether or not that's the case. ;) > - Note that radioactive materials are often quite hot. Is this also the > case for pure gamma emitters? If so, shouldn't the large majority of the > gammas just pass right through? E.g., could there be some gammas that are > unaccounted for? Maybe, Google is your friend. (However I suspect you will find that radioisotopes that are warm to the touch are largely alpha/beta emitters). Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html
