Freethought & Rationalism Archive

lpetrich · 02-18-2003, 04:28 PM

Its intended purpose is to keep air from going through cracks, such as at doors and windows and the like -- which will keep out poison gases and radioactive dust.

As to ionizing-radiation shielding, what's really important is the column density: (ordinary density)*(thickness). So even air can shield against ionizing radiation -- if there is enough of it in the way.

There are some delightful additional complications like:

Betas will emit secondary X-rays if they pass by heavy nuclei -- so concrete or water or wood is better than lead for shielding against them.

Neutrons scatter most easily off of hydrogen, meaning that water or wood is better than most other materials.

Mad Kally · 02-18-2003, 06:11 PM

I love duct tape. Now it comes in a variety of lovely colors. All the better for repairing my shoes.

Valentine Pontifex · 02-18-2003, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by parkdalian

Someone caught my reference. :-)

Duct Tape Forever!

echidna · 02-18-2003, 09:16 PM

All I know, is that North American hampsters have never been so afraid.

Mad Kally · 02-18-2003, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by echidna
All I know, is that North American hampsters have never been so afraid.

echidna, WHY did you have to say that? Now I can't stop laughing! I even snorted.

echidna · 02-18-2003, 10:17 PM

Gooch's dad · 02-19-2003, 07:00 AM

I heard that the government was recommending that people go buy lots of plastic sheets and duct tape...I thought the Bush administration was against kinky sex?

WinAce · 02-19-2003, 12:08 PM

^ I was waiting for a joke like that.

Jesse · 02-19-2003, 12:41 PM

Here's a good NYTimes article about how not only will duct tape not do much to protect you, but the danger from biological and chemical attacks has been greatly exaggerated...it's conventional explosives and nukes that we should worry about.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/16/we...w/16EASTE.html

Quote:

Last week, a Washington talk radio host discussed what listeners should do if "a huge cloud of poison gas is drifting over the city." No nation's military has the technical ability to create a huge, lingering gas cloud: in outdoor use, chemical agents are lethal only for a few moments, because the wind quickly dilutes them. Chemical agents are deadly mainly in enclosed circumstances � subways, for example, or in building ventilation systems. The duct-taped room in a home is of little use in such a scenario.

A 1993 study by the Office of Technology Assessment found that one ton of perfectly delivered sarin, used against an unprotected city, could kill as many as 8,000. But the possession by terrorists of a ton of the most deadly gas seems reasonably unlikely, while perfect conditions for a gas attack � no wind, no sun (sunlight breaks down nerve agents), a low-flying plane that no one is shooting at � almost never happen. Even lights winds, the 1993 study projected, would drop the death toll to about 700.

Seven hundred dead would be horrible, but similar to the harm that might be inflicted in a crowded area by one ton of conventional explosives. Because these explosives are about as deadly as chemicals pound for pound, but far easier to obtain and use, terrorists may be more likely to try to blow things up. Almost all recent terrorist attacks around the world have involved conventional explosives.

The image of millions cowering behind plastic sheets as clouds of biological weapons envelop a city owes more to science fiction than reality. The Japanese use of fleas infected with bubonic plague against Chinese cities in World War II was the only successful instance of bioattacks in contemporary warfare. In 1971, "weaponized" smallpox was accidentally released from a Soviet plant; three people died. In 1979, an explosion at another Soviet site released a large quantity of weapons-grade anthrax; 68 people died.

In 1989, workers at an American government laboratory near Washington were accidentally exposed to Ebola, and it was several days before the mistake was discovered; no one died. A coordinated anthrax attack in the fall of 2001 killed five people, a tiny fraction of the number who died of influenza during the time the nation was terrified by the anthrax letters.

Shpongle · 02-19-2003, 06:42 PM

Duct tape use #65:

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02-18-2003, 04:28 PM	#21
lpetrich Contributor Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Lebanon, OR, USA Posts: 16,829	Its intended purpose is to keep air from going through cracks, such as at doors and windows and the like -- which will keep out poison gases and radioactive dust. As to ionizing-radiation shielding, what's really important is the column density: (ordinary density)*(thickness). So even air can shield against ionizing radiation -- if there is enough of it in the way. There are some delightful additional complications like: Betas will emit secondary X-rays if they pass by heavy nuclei -- so concrete or water or wood is better than lead for shielding against them. Neutrons scatter most easily off of hydrogen, meaning that water or wood is better than most other materials.

02-18-2003, 06:11 PM	#22
Mad Kally Banned Join Date: May 2001 Location: LALA Land in California Posts: 3,764	I love duct tape. Now it comes in a variety of lovely colors. All the better for repairing my shoes.

02-18-2003, 09:16 PM	#24
echidna Veteran Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 2,832	All I know, is that North American hampsters have never been so afraid.

02-18-2003, 10:17 PM	#26
echidna Veteran Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 2,832

02-19-2003, 07:00 AM	#27
Gooch's dad Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Madison WI USA Posts: 3,508	I heard that the government was recommending that people go buy lots of plastic sheets and duct tape...I thought the Bush administration was against kinky sex?

02-19-2003, 12:08 PM	#28
WinAce Beloved Deceased Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Carrboro, NC Posts: 1,539	^ I was waiting for a joke like that.

02-19-2003, 06:42 PM	#30
Shpongle Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Frozen North Posts: 9,920	Duct tape use #65:

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