Pu - Hannibal Lecter of the Periodic Table

[Rubycon]

Rather interesting video about Plutonium.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89UNPdNtOoE

In case anyone was interesting in messing around with nuclear waste.

 

[MongGrel]

Yep, some things are a bit scary to mess with.

I guess someone buying a condo in Somalia in the distant future might have some unexpected results.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

When the human race evolved, it evolved with Uranium in the environment, so we physiologically can actually deal with it to some extent. Plutonium is a MAN MADE element, it wasn't there in the environment when we evolved, and this means we've got essentially zero tolerance to it.

How did that guy ever pass a basic radiation safety course?

 

[Jeff7]

How did that guy ever pass a basic radiation safety course?

That also struck me as a little bit weird. There are lots of very old and naturally-occurring things that are incredibly deadly to us. It's not like uranium is particularly safe either.

 

[MongGrel]

How did that guy ever pass a basic radiation safety course?

Um, whut ?

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Um, whut ?

1. Alpha emitters are alpha emitters; some are more energized, some decay faster, but the body's basic mechanism of dealing with radiation damage isn't any different except in quantity.
2. Is there any evidence the human race "evolved with" uranium, such that it was enough of a selective pressure to make us need to be resistant to it? It's a trace element and there are plenty of damaging oxides and whatnot produced during normal metabolism to ensure repair mechanisms already.

 

[MongGrel]

1. Alpha emitters are alpha emitters; some are more energized, some decay faster, but the body's basic mechanism of dealing with radiation damage isn't any different except in quantity.
2. Is there any evidence the human race "evolved with" uranium, such that it was enough of a selective pressure to make us need to be resistant to it? It's a trace element and there are plenty of damaging oxides and whatnot produced during normal metabolism to ensure repair mechanisms already.

It was a joke to begin with.

NM.

 

[NetWareHead]

1. Alpha emitters are alpha emitters; some are more energized, some decay faster, but the body's basic mechanism of dealing with radiation damage isn't any different except in quantity.
2. Is there any evidence the human race "evolved with" uranium, such that it was enough of a selective pressure to make us need to be resistant to it? It's a trace element and there are plenty of damaging oxides and whatnot produced during normal metabolism to ensure repair mechanisms already.

Plutonium is identical to other alpha emitters in a radioactive sense. However it may behave differently chemically (forming bonds with other elements, where it resides in the body etc...) so that may be the difference.

 

[gururu2]

Nah I think the guy was simply saying that our exposure is based to a distant and diluted exposure to it versus a concentrated laboratory form. The language here is slow and general suited to a high school level education. The message is informative.

 

[Jeff7]

Nah I think the guy was simply saying that our exposure is based to a distant and diluted exposure to it versus a concentrated laboratory form. The language here is slow and general suited to a high school level education. The message is informative.

And it was edited for and by someone with both severe ADHD and a squirrel running around the room, so who knows what was lost in editing. "Oh god, that sounds like a big $5 word. That'll terrify viewers."
It kept jumping from lab to gesticulating-puffy-hair-guy and back again.

 

[skyking]

The videos are a bit addictive. Thanks for posting, still listening to them

 

[IronWing]

Way back in the dark ages (the early 1990s) the local public radio station had a weekly alternative medicine show. One of the callers to the show wanted to know how to get around laws restricting the personal possession of all the lanthanides and actinides. The caller's position was that since the universe contained these elements that our health suffered from not having them in our bodies because we were incomplete and could not be in tune with the entire universe. The show's host agreed with the caller and they went on to discuss how to affect political change in order to "free" these elements.

 

[BoomerD]

I worked at Hanford in the 70's. In case of a black-out, stand close to me. I glow in the dark.

 

[Jeff7]

Way back in the dark ages (the early 1990s) the local public radio station had a weekly alternative medicine show. One of the callers to the show wanted to know how to get around laws restricting the personal possession of all the lanthanides and actinides. The caller's position was that since the universe contained these elements that our health suffered from not having them in our bodies because we were incomplete and could not be in tune with the entire universe. The show's host agreed with the caller and they went on to discuss how to effect political change in order to "free" these elements.

Very heavy elements are thought to briefly exist in things like supernovas. Do we also need exposure to those things in very small quantities as well?


...oh wait, homeopathy explains that. You can't get much more diluted than a few thousand tons of material mixed in with a massive star.


I guess this was also before unitednuclear.com showed up and started selling uranium ore and thorium dioxide.
And no lanthanides? So what of my neodymium magnets?

I wonder if anyone explained to this listener that radio waves are electromagnetic radiation? That crowd is usually also all "oh no, electromagnetic death awaits! EM radiation is evil!"