Monday, May 16, 2005
This Is Cool & It Will Never Fly
University of Rochester engineers have deveoped a battery, based on tritium decay, that will last a dozen years or more -- a vast improvement over conventional batteries. They are discussing it's use in pacemakers and other devices where changign the battery is enormously problematic.
Tritium decay is, of course, beta radiation. thus, they'll never see market, despite the fact they are perfectly safe. "Why so pessimistic?" you ask.
Back in the 1950's Tareyton cigarettes used beta radiation for quality control. Insuring that the cigarettes they produced were of uniform size, tobacco content, and other factors that contributed to makig a good cigarette. It was, at the time, the most advanced and precise quality control system in consumer manufacturing. So proud was Tareyton that the advertised about this QC system. (I tried to find some links for this, but they just don't exist, I got this story out of a college textbook when I took radioanalysis way back when. Can't find the textbook either.)
The public was so afraid of the radiation (even though beta radiation cannot penetrate skin) that Tareyton sales plummeted. They were forced to remove their multi-million dollar investment. The real kicker is that the cigarettes themselves represented a far greater health risk than any radiation they might be exposed to.
I just don't think anyone is going to let a radiation source be implanted in their chest - although they should.
Tritium decay is, of course, beta radiation. thus, they'll never see market, despite the fact they are perfectly safe. "Why so pessimistic?" you ask.
Back in the 1950's Tareyton cigarettes used beta radiation for quality control. Insuring that the cigarettes they produced were of uniform size, tobacco content, and other factors that contributed to makig a good cigarette. It was, at the time, the most advanced and precise quality control system in consumer manufacturing. So proud was Tareyton that the advertised about this QC system. (I tried to find some links for this, but they just don't exist, I got this story out of a college textbook when I took radioanalysis way back when. Can't find the textbook either.)
The public was so afraid of the radiation (even though beta radiation cannot penetrate skin) that Tareyton sales plummeted. They were forced to remove their multi-million dollar investment. The real kicker is that the cigarettes themselves represented a far greater health risk than any radiation they might be exposed to.
I just don't think anyone is going to let a radiation source be implanted in their chest - although they should.
