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Edit: user defrost provided some good looking context comment exactly of the form I was looking for, thanks. The specifics of the available technology matters w

Edit: user defrost provided some good looking context comment exactly of the form I was looking for, thanks. The specifics of the available technology matters when assessing these claims. For some reason I'm actually skeptical it has actually been found. A cynical reading is they scanned all the places people were ever likely to intentionally stop on that road and found nothing. So harm is just very unlikely, but leaving the item unaccounted for was just really, really bad press. I want to hear more about the sensitivity of this scanning device, particularly when used at this speed, and from someone knowledgeable in the field.

defrost 4y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34574163 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34574163 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34551688 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34551688 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34607673 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34607673
Reason077 4y ago
Why skeptical? It's easy to find sources of ionising radiation, and it sounds like this capsule was a pretty powerful one for it's size. You can buy a device capable of detecting it for $30 on Amazon - and I'm sure the searchers had far more sophisticated/sensitive equipment at their disposal. If they really didn't think it was dangerous (or findable) and didn't want bad publicity then they would have just hushed it up in the first place and never gone to the government & press.
- worthless-trash 4y ago
  ARPANSA in Australia some of the most decent radiation detecting equipment I've seen, I imagine they would have been engaged early in the process.
  - worthless-trash 4y ago
    Turns out it was (ARPANSA), Defence, and the Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) as part of a multi-agency response.
zopa 4y ago
I don’t think the risk/reward works out here. Lots of people had knowledge of the search; if any one of them goes to the press, then a minor public embarrassment becomes a career-ender, at best. Public agencies leak too much for this sort of thing. Not to mention that they could have just not announced the loss if they wanted to hide it.
KarlKemp 4y ago
That’s some impressive gymnastics of logic… It would have been far easier to just stay quiet about the initial than making it public, generating news report around the world, then ending it this way.
- verytrivial 4y ago
  "Don't touch this if you see it." becomes "We're now actuarially confident you're not likely to see this, and if you do, we can say we lost two after all." We'd like to hope this sort of truth twisting is unthinkable in that country, but countries everywhere are getting weird.

defrost 4y ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34574163 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34574163 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34551688 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34551688 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34607673 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34607673

Reason077 4y ago

Why skeptical? It's easy to find sources of ionising radiation, and it sounds like this capsule was a pretty powerful one for it's size. You can buy a device capable of detecting it for $30 on Amazon - and I'm sure the searchers had far more sophisticated/sensitive equipment at their disposal. If they really didn't think it was dangerous (or findable) and didn't want bad publicity then they would have just hushed it up in the first place and never gone to the government & press.

worthless-trash 4y ago
ARPANSA in Australia some of the most decent radiation detecting equipment I've seen, I imagine they would have been engaged early in the process.
- worthless-trash 4y ago
  Turns out it was (ARPANSA), Defence, and the Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) as part of a multi-agency response.

zopa 4y ago

I don’t think the risk/reward works out here. Lots of people had knowledge of the search; if any one of them goes to the press, then a minor public embarrassment becomes a career-ender, at best. Public agencies leak too much for this sort of thing. Not to mention that they could have just not announced the loss if they wanted to hide it.

KarlKemp 4y ago

That’s some impressive gymnastics of logic… It would have been far easier to just stay quiet about the initial than making it public, generating news report around the world, then ending it this way.

verytrivial 4y ago
"Don't touch this if you see it." becomes "We're now actuarially confident you're not likely to see this, and if you do, we can say we lost two after all." We'd like to hope this sort of truth twisting is unthinkable in that country, but countries everywhere are getting weird.