baptista@pccf.net[SMTP:baptista@pccf.net] wrote

On Sat, 17 Nov 2001, F. Marc de Piolenc wrote:

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detonation. You can actually hold a subcritical mass of plutonium in your hand for awhile - I'm told it feels warm. Can't say I've tried it myself.

hold on mr. expert. you hold a sub critical mass in your hand and in a few days you end up shitting out your guts, lose your hair and die. so i assume the person who had the opportunity to hold such a critical mass is now dead. where are you getting your info on what it feels like? curious george here. The dot.GOD Registry, Limited http://www.dot-god.com/

Sigh, the truth is out there; you just need to look it up. Pu-239 (the major isotope of weapons grade plutonium) has a half life of over 24,000 years, and is an alpha emitter. Alphas are very, very feeble, and won't get past the dead outer layer of your skin. Pu-241 (a minor contaminant) is a bigger problem since it has a half life of only 14.4. years, and decays to americium 241. Am-241 is a gamma emitter, and a lot more difficult to shield. Newly processed weapons grade PU in solid lumps is relatively harmless stuff. I wouldn't want to hold it in my bare hand, but it's a pretty low risk operation. Any serious mechanical processing will make dust, which is an entirely different scale of risk. I have a vague memory of seeing a photo of a ?3 inch? ball of Pu (isotopic composition unknown) in one of those old Time-Life books. The ball glowed a dull red with it's own internal heat. [Bet this post gets me on some list. Knowing how to use Google is starting to be viewed as suspicious.] Peter Trei