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To: mappingworld who wrote (8390)	4/22/1999 10:57:00 AM
From: Buckey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 62348

Oh yeah another sybol for tonight FLWRS

To: mappingworld who wrote (8390)	4/22/1999 10:58:00 AM
From: Ray.	Respond to of 62348

Out 1/2 RIM at 16.15 Ray

To: mappingworld who wrote (8390)	8/21/1999 10:09:00 AM
From: Chuca Marsh	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 62348

Olga, that POP referance to the MFST post is inline with my NEWTECH HOT thoughts of late. I have been doing some reseach on RTGs. And the prior-prior referanced posts to Buckley came up. So, what with my IR involvement help to the IR folks at Rhombic Corp and the RTG info sent to me in a PM last night. So, what info do you folks have on RTG ( Radio Isotope Thermal Generator - PU-238 decays by Beta Decay- Gives off heat- Turned into electrical power.) :RE- Subject: Re: NASA's a biohazard, Re: the world's billionaires Date: 1999/08/09 DELETED ADDRESS,by Chucka Author: Jonathan A. G.<@et.byu.edu> Posting History "Gr (Stri...)" wrote: > Let me get this straight. You don't know what an RTG is, but you're > protesting the use of Pu-238 on Cassini. You have obviously not done > your homework. Unfortunately, this seems rather representative of the anti-Cassini crowd. But ignorance can be cured. Some of the more celebrated (and well educated) opponents of Cassini I have even less respect for. > RTG stands for Radio-isotope Thermal Generator. It contains Pu-238 > which decays by a beta decay (I believe it's beta, someone correct me > here if I'm wrong). This decay gives off heat. This heat is turned > into electrical power. It is actually alpha decay. The Pu-238 emits a high energy alpha particle (basically ionized helium-4). The heat sets up a temperature difference across a special electronics component called a thermocouple. This causes a voltage to be setup, which powers the equipment. It's remarkably safe and reliable, but gives rather poor energy density (though energy over time is quite good). The only other type of power system I've seen that has anywhere near a comparable life-span is the Nuclide Battery that the Rhombic Corporation is theoretically working on. If it gets finished, it will probably replace RTGs, because it is has an 80% efficiency as opposed to the 4-8% for RTGs, and can be made ultradense (energy densities of around .67kW/kg as opposed to several hundred kilograms for less than 2kW of output power). I'm not sure of the progress as their website is the only page I've found talking about them. > This Pu-238 oxide is fairly tough stuff as I understand it. That alone > keeps it from being turned into a fine powder. Very tough, and very high temperature resistant. > Secondly, the RTG itself is surrounded by what is basically an armored > cask. Years ago I saw a video of a test of one of these where it a test > cask was mounted on a railcar and accelerated by rocket into a concrete > wall. Yup, the cask has a layer of iridium covered with two layers of Carbon-Carbon composites (IIRC). Very strong, and very impact resistant. Also very burn resistant. > As for surviving the explosion, the explosions are not as violent as you > may think. Yes, they appear extremely violent, but it's not to tough to > build something that can survive them. You may not be aware of it, but > for example, the crew of Challenger SURVIVED the break up of the > orbiter. It was that sudden velocity change at the end...and NASA <<PART DELETED >>I'll shut up. > Also, in a different post you suggested NASA was being encouraged by the > DoD to use RTG's (or as you called them fission devices) in space for > testing and other purposes. The fact of the matter is, NASA and the DoD > has used RTG's for over 30 years. Cassini is in fact I believe the last > (or 2nd to last) NASA probe that was planned around an RTG. The > facility to produce RTG's was last I heard indefinitely off-line. If > anything NASA would probably have preferred to have more RTG's > available. Yup, until stuff like Nuclide Batteries become available, RTGs are about the only thing that allows for outer solar system exploration. I hope to change that, but we'll see. > So please, I encourage you to ask questions about concerns, but educate > yourself as much as possible (such as knowing what an RTG is) before > posting what really turns out to be a lot of scare nonsense. A very good job at avoiding high levels of vitriol which I would have probably expended. Yes, I used to be an anti-nuke person, however now that I know more about it, it seems like a very powerful tool that has some real unused potential. All I am saying is "give nukes a chance"..... ;-) -- Jonathan Deleted Last Name "America goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well wisher to the freedom and independence of all." -- John Q. Adams Track this thread for me Subscribe to alt.politics.libertarian Mail this message to a friend END Chucka