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According to the article, the energy is generated by alpha particles, which are in principle a very dangerous form of radiation. It's not clear to me, though, w
by microtherion 7y ago
According to the article, the energy is generated by alpha particles, which are in principle a very dangerous form of radiation. It's not clear to me, though, whether the radiation stops as soon as the fusion does or not.
- DennisP 7y agoSubstances which continuously emit alpha particles are dangerous. This is something different. With every laser shot there will be a burst of alpha particles. Then they'll slow down and just be plain old helium. If the direct energy conversion works, they'll get slowed down very quickly.
- Animats 7y agoSubstances which continuously emit alpha particles are dangerous. Only if you eat or inhale them. A sheet of paper will stop alpha particles.
- mcswell 7y agoUp until a decade or two ago, tritium--which emits alpha radiation--was commonly on wristwatch dials, precisely because they were not dangerous. Alpha radiation is easily stopped; it's only dangerous if you breathe it (or drink it, if that's even possible).
- microtherion 7y agoTritium emits beta radiation. It would be an interesting trick for an atom to emit radiation with a higher weight than itself. It might also be worth pointing out that "It must be safe! They even put it on wristwatch dials!" is not, historically, a sound argument.