Topic: Fact or Crap?

[Guillermo]

Oh, and I suspect that unix, totally has a copy of this calendar.

[AQB24712]

The role of Citizen Contrary Skeptic will be played today by Guillermo.

[Citizen Skeptic]

Wednesday, June 13:  Marie Curie's notebooks were so radioactive that a library couldn't display them in the 1990s.  Fact or Crap?

FACT

[Johnny Slick]

I am, like, pretty positive this is FACT.

[Plastique]

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How do you irradiate something so that it is radioactive, unless you place radioactive material on it.

I assume that's exactly how.

[AQB24712]

I am, like, pretty positive this is FACT.

A fine, fine example of that blue-eyed strategic thinking we learned about earlier.

[David E.]

I am, like, pretty positive this is FACT.

A fine, fine example of that blue-eyed strategic thinking we learned about earlier.

You are a sarcastic wench. 

[DK]

Gonna go Fact today.

[AQB24712]

I am, like, pretty positive this is FACT.

A fine, fine example of that blue-eyed strategic thinking we learned about earlier.

You are a sarcastic wench.

And damned cute, too.

[DK]

I am, like, pretty positive this is FACT.

A fine, fine example of that blue-eyed strategic thinking we learned about earlier.

You are a sarcastic wench.

And damned cute, too.

Fact.

Oh, wait, we've already had today's question haven't we?

[Ah.hell]

I'll say crap for this one.

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How do you irradiate something so that it is radioactive, unless you place radioactive material on it.

That would do it or just being exposed to enough radiation from any source. 

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Some radiation is just high energy moving particles, Alphas(helium atoms) and Betas(electrons or positrons) and neutrons given of from fission or decay of unstable and therefore radioactive isotopes.  If those particles are absorbed by nearby particles, those particles are transmuted into radioactive isotopes themselves which then decay and produce less unstable isotopes and radiation. 

  So its totally possible.

[Green Ideas]

Yeah, totally believable FACT.

[Guillermo]

I'm getting scarred. But what the Hell, Being the sole winner is great.

[Guillermo]

I'll say crap for this one.

(click to show/hide)

How do you irradiate something so that it is radioactive, unless you place radioactive material on it.

That would do it or just being exposed to enough radiation from any source. 

(click to show/hide)

Some radiation is just high energy moving particles, Alphas(helium atoms) and Betas(electrons or positrons) and neutrons given of from fission or decay of unstable and therefore radioactive isotopes.  If those particles are absorbed by nearby particles, those particles are transmuted into radioactive isotopes themselves which then decay and produce less unstable isotopes and radiation. 

  So its totally possible.

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It's the same with the irradiated foods, and the skeptic point of view was always that no matter how much radiation hit the food, the food never becomes radioactive. However, radiactive dust and stuff might have gotten in there, but still...

[Henning]

Hmm. Fact.

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Radium is a particularly nasty one, and has a longish halflife. I'm sure there's still dust and detritus from that lab on the notebooks. But then why couldn't one just take a shop-vac to it? Ah well. Vote cast...