Re:Chinese Tokamak reaches over 100M degrees
by quotemstr on Wednesday November 14, 2018 @04:17PM
(#18454041)
The way radioactivity works, the faster a substance decays, the more dangerous it is. Something being slightly radioactive for ten thousand years is much better than some searing-hot exotic isotope sitting around for 40.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Chinese Tokamak reaches over 100M degrees
by frob on Monday November 26, 2018 @09:59PM
(#18538974)
Not really. The big issue is with long-term deterrence, not short-term. It is fairly easy to isolate something for 30/50/100/200 years. It is much harder to isolate something from future humanity with a high level of certainty for 200,000 years. Even things with low levels of radioactivity will kill you if ingested and do a lot of harm if kept near. The problem of communicating this to future humans is a big one. How do you keep future humans who may not have the level of technology we have from deciding that the magic, glowing, heating stone is a source of healing and prosperity instead of something to be avoided?