On Tue, 1 Oct 2002, kirk wrote:
> >15,000 grams, so that's 15,000/19=790 cubic centimeters. So, if it was 2
> >feet long (24 inches, at 2.54 cm per inch, so 61 cm long), then the
> >cross-sectional area must be 790/61=13 cm^2. So, assuming it's a cylinder,
> >the radius would be slightly more than 2 cm, or a diameter of 4 cm (a
> >little over 1.5 inches). Yeah, that would be tough to fit under a seat.
> >(sarcasm)
>
>
> You wouldn't be sarcastic for long with no shielding. You left shielding out
> in your eagerness to stuff it under the seat.
Uranium enriched to 15% U-235 isn't all that radioactive. 85% of the
material is U-238 - I've held a large bar of U-238 in my hand.
A layer of lead would stop the x-rays from the U-235, and you could drop
the entire thing in some water to help block the neutrons. Of course, why
bother doing that when most terrorists would eagerly die for their cause?
Why is any shielding necessary to protect someone who wants to die for his
cause, particularly when the material to be shielded from isn't all that
radioactive?
That's a big factor that many people seem to keep forgetting -
logic goes flying out the window when you're dealing with people who WANT
to die for their cause. Prior to 9/11/01, everyone felt that if somebody
hijacks an airplane, you should just do what the hijackers ask, because
previously hijackers had almost always just landed the plane somewhere
else - after all, they didn't want to die themselves, right? Why would
extremists who eagerly fly planes into buildings be concerned about
shielding themselves from some mildly radioactive material, especially
when smuggling that material would allow them to kill millions of
infidels?
Mike
-------------------------------------------------------------
Michael S. Briggs "Never judge a man until you've
UNH Physics Department walked a mile in his shoes. Then
(603) 862-2828 when you do judge him, you'll be
a mile away and you'll have
his shoes."
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