3 ms·
You could possibly surround the material with the fungi to naturally absorb the gamma radiation. Also some genetic modification to the fungi may yield interest
by s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
You could possibly surround the material with the fungi to naturally absorb the gamma radiation.
Also some genetic modification to the fungi may yield interesting results.
- mirimir 7y agoLead would work a lot better.
- s_y_n_t_a_x 7y agoLead doesn't convert it to chemical energy. Seems like a waste if we can use the decay... Also, this fungi could be infinitely cheaper and much greener than lead...
- jshevek 7y agoThe amount of energy lost in this circumstance is too small to invest effort into reclaiming it. It is unlikely to be both cheaper than lead and equally reliable. One day we may find a commercial use for this, but replacing lead with fungi in this context is not likely.
- candiodari 7y agoOr you could go with a substance that both stops radiation AND extracts the energy, used in every nuclear reactor: water. It's not quite as good as lead but pretty good, and it will heat up while stopping the radiation, then conveniently through convection can transport itself to a point where the energy can get extracted.
- s_y_n_t_a_x 7y agoWater extracts thermal radiation at the infrared wavelength, not the higher energy wavelengths that these fungi eat. (X-ray, and Gamma). Funny enough, these little critters are actually found in reactor pools.