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I fully understand direct exposure can be lethal nearly instantly. It looks like what I didn't understand is radiation-blocking of a material (lead, concrete,
by gascan 9y ago
I fully understand direct exposure can be lethal nearly instantly.
It looks like what I didn't understand is radiation-blocking of a material (lead, concrete, water) is actually a decay function (half of the radiation makes it through X feet) rather than an absolute function (no radiation makes it through X feet).
In other words, given an infinitely radioactive source, you would require an infinitely thick lead barrier to protect you.
Really, I should have guessed given everything else about radioactivity is the same way.
- mirimir 9y agoRight, it's just like transparency for visible light. But many of the fission products in neutron-exposed uranium emit high-energy gammas. And even lead is somewhat transparent. Also, from what Google tells me, those "infinity rooms" at Hanford are probably contaminated with plutonium-239. That's an alpha emitter, and alphas (helium-4 nuclei) are pretty easy to stop.