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Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by franze on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @02:21AM (#34607506)
Anybody has a clue how / what for this is used in mining? And are there alternatives for the future?
Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by defrost on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @02:29AM (#34607554)
Estimating iron ore grade on the fly as recently blasted ore beds are dumped through a load out into train carriages for transport to ocean side processing (further crushing, screening, fine grading and blending) and loading onto shipping.

It's an 800 million tonne per year operation in W.Australia (somewhat larger than the US ~ 48 million tonne iron ore mining figures (IIRC)).

The alternatives are to find something else that can be "shone" like a flashlight through raw iron ore, and | or for the world to consume less steel.

Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by qikInNdOutReply on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @03:09AM (#34607808)
But the world needs more steel. To build more ships. The world needs more ships. To carry more ore and coal. Because the world needs more steel. Also to build buildings.

This whole "economic" growth is just another bubble ready to pop, similar usefull to crypto in the long run.

Destroyed the planet, for what..

Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by stefs on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @03:12AM (#34607839)
... but for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot of value for shareholders!
Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by throwawaylinux on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @03:35AM (#34607982)
Anybody is free to choose to go without products made with steel or steel tools if they want to stick it to the fat cats.
Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by refurb on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @03:43AM (#34608030)
Then i realized the shareholder is us .. .. me in fact!
Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by peepeepoopoo3 on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @03:50AM (#34608074)
I hope you posted this using smoke signals and not a state of the art personal supercomputer.
Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by gonzo41 on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @03:35AM (#34607980)
Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by King-Aaron on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @02:34AM (#34607586)
Density meter source, and no there's generally no necessary alternative as these are "usually" quite safe when they are handled correctly.
Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by acomjean on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @08:22AM (#34610019)
I’ve used troxler portable nuclear soil density readers when I was a civil engineer doing site inspections.

I’m assuming it’s something similar.

I had a radiation badge which never showed anything. We know the badges worked because someone stored the badge with the nuclear device which caused them to be quite alarmed when that test came back. Keeping distance reduces exposure.

We had to have paperwork from the US regularitiry commission to transport it from site back to office. I remember it was stored in a giant orange box which we tied down in the back of our truck.

Looking it seems like new models are designed not to need that.

https://troxlerlabs.com/egauge-model-4590-soil-density-gauge...

Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by ta_6104829 on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @02:33AM (#34607576)
I’m not sure about mining, but in dredging it’s used to measure the density of the slurry in a pipe. It’s possibly something similar in mining.
Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by defrost on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @02:41AM (#34607623)
Bang on - it's for density.

You'll also see radioactive sources in household smoke alarms on a smaller scale to estimate smoke load in air, and in mineral exploration in downhole detectors mapping density of surrounding materials, in oil and gas measuring the density profiles of fluids as they flow past, etc.

Flashlights are visible light spectrum sources, gamma emitters are similar in function ( Cs-137 emits a 32 KeV x-ray peak and the 662 keV gamma peak ) as they "shine" through materials opaque in the visible spectrum and can be measured after for absorption.

Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by CorrectHorseBat on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @03:19AM (#34607882)
>You'll also see radioactive sources in household smoke alarms

Better to get another one if you still have one of those, they are not very good: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DuAeaIcAXtg

Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by wkat4242 on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @04:06AM (#34608170)
Those household smoke detectors were in the 80s, the ones sold now are optical.

But of course there's many still around, sadly

Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by trelane on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @09:21AM (#34610793)
> Those household smoke detectors were in the 80s, the ones sold now are optical.

No, ionization detectors are still around. They're better for detecting flame fires than optical. Think of when you've seen a campfire and there's been little smoke. There was definitely a fire, but an optical detector wouldn't have detected it.

In contrast, optical is better for smoking fires. Best practice is to have some of each. In fact, I believe some models have both in the same unit.

http://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Staying-safe/Safety-equ...

> But of course there's many still around, sadly

I hope not.

PSA: most smoke detectors have a lifespan of 10 years. Smoke detectors from the 80s would be mostly useless now, 40+ years later.

https://www.allstate.com/resources/home-insurance/how-long-d...

Another PSA: while you're replacing your old smoke detectors, if you have combustion heat, consider replacing some of them with ones that also detect CO. (You'll have to replace them in 5-7years, though.)

Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by helsinkiandrew on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @03:01AM (#34607759)
Someone posted this: https://www.advgauging.com/product/berthold-7440-d-cr-500-mc...

on the discussion when it went missing: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34560399

By measuring how much radiation is absorbed through some material you can determine how much metal it contains

Re:Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after fra... by Archelaos on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @03:39AM (#34608001)
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