Quote:
Originally Posted by MMiller
Love this post! The rest of us in NM always wonder what kind of wizardry you kids are up to in those labs..
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Powerpoint lately, at least for me.
Back in the Pu area we called the glowing cylinder of 238Pu-oxide shown in the linked wiki the "Senator Ball". It was retired before I showed up in '96 but, kept in a well insulated box, it had enough heat generated by decay that it would glow incandescently. Was very impressive for VIPs touring the facility.
Evidently the repeated boxing/unboxing of it cycled its temps enough that it began to crumble - and anything made of that isotope is a nightmare to clean up. It decays so energetically that, according to lore, it will propel itself around the room - soiling areas you just deconned.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium-238
I'm sad that I never got to see the Senator Ball. I think it's still in a box somewhere here in LA.
Did five years in Pu. Rad stuff, at least safe-ish things like Pu, don't bother me in the slightest - BUT - it is darn strange to pick something up and just feel it generating heat right there in your hands.