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"Bismuth's extremely long half life means that if the entire Earth was made of bismuth when it formed, less than one billionth of the bismuth would have decayed
by BenjiWiebe 9y ago
"Bismuth's extremely long half life means that if the entire Earth was made of bismuth when it formed, less than one billionth of the bismuth would have decayed into thallium." What? Isn't it irrelevant how much bismuth you started with, if you measure it as a ratio??
- Nzen 9y agoPerhaps there was a 'joke' comparison that that author forgot or later editors deemed unserious. Something like "only a mass equivalent to the Himalayas, less than one billionth, would have decayed into thallium." This example is for demonstration only, as I'm not sure what the equivalent would be.