Re: [asa] Radioactive decay of U-238 is imminent (just wait a few billion years)

Murray

Where did you get that from? It is brilliant and I should have thought of
it!!!!!

Michael
----- Original Message -----
From: "Murray Hogg" <muzhogg@netspace.net.au>
To: "ASA" <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 5:07 PM
Subject: [asa] Radioactive decay of U-238 is imminent (just wait a few
billion years)

> John Burgeson (ASA member) wrote:
>> I take "imminent" to mean "at any time." No indication in the word as
>> to whether that time is 10 nanoseconds from now -- or 4 million years.
>
> Hi Burgy,
>
> It strikes me that a scientific example illustrating the notion of
> immanence would be radioactive decay.
>
> To take the most extreme instance, there is nothing inconsistent with the
> observation that for any atom of Uranium-238 the decay to Thorium-234 is
> "imminent" AND with the belief that with a half-life of about 4.5 billion
> years it's probably not worth sitting around waiting for it to happen!
>
> Blessings,
> Murray
>
>
>
>
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Received on Thu Jan 22 12:33:12 2009