From key@physics.utoronto.ca Tue Mar 25 18:20:55 2008 Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:20:55 -0400 From: Tony Key To: Shelly Xu Subject: Re: Question regarding a Question in the Written Problem Set! Thanks for your question, Shelly. You are quite correct. All I was asking for nunerically was a short calculation explaining why in fact there is no Pu-235 available now - assuming, e.g. that it was produced during the supernova explosion with the same abundance as the U-238. That is an easy decay question. Good question, glad you seem to be on track. TonyK Shelly Xu wrote: > Hello Professor Key, > > I am having trouble with determining how to approach the numerical > argument we must make for ignoring Pu-239 in question D. You mention > that we must consider only natural sources, and I have found from > various websites that it does not occur naturally - it is synthesized by > bombarding neutrons at U-238. Would this mean that we would not have any > Pu-239 in our body from natural sources in the first place, so > numerically, we have zero radiated energy from the (non-existent) decay > of Pu-239? And thus, would this also mean that zero U-235 is produced > solely from the decay, so we can ignore the effects of Pu-239 > completely? Am I misinterpreting something completely? > > Thanks very much! > > Shelly > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Hunt for a chance to win a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder! Click here to enter > [ Part 2, Text/X-VCARD (charset: UTF-8 "Internet-standard ] [ Unicode") (Name: "key.vcf") 9 lines. ] [ Unable to print this part. ]