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Why is my dryer radioactive?
111–120 of 170 posts
Re: Why is my dryer radioactive?
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks for posting this, I will check it out. As a Midwesterner with a basement I had once looked into those claims about radon as the second-highest cause of lung cancer with concern and found the evidence much weaker than I expected. Even by EPA estimates[0] almost 90% of the lung cancer deaths attributed to radon are smokers (i.e. who have already weakened lungs), and there didn't seem to be good evidence of damag…
Let me preemptively disclaim that I do have nitpicks about the talk I linked, but IMO his main argument is sound. In particular I think his scientific explanations aren't always fully accurate, and he worries about measurement minutia very strenuously. Also at one point he says you could breathe 80% radon/20% oxygen, which while chemically this is true, radiologically it would be suicidal. Those nitpicks aside, his p…
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Re: Why is my dryer radioactive?
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
Let me preemptively disclaim that I do have nitpicks about the talk I linked, but IMO his main argument is sound. In particular I think his scientific explanations aren't always fully accurate, and he worries about measurement minutia very strenuously. Also at one point he says you could breathe 80% radon/20% oxygen, which while chemically this is true, radiologically it would be suicidal. Those nitpicks aside, his p…
The alternative to LNT is to conservatively assume radiation has the maximum effect not ruled out by evidence (after all, radiation is not a criminal defendant that's innocent until proven guilty). This would make low level radiation more dangerous than predicted by LNT, not less.
>The alternative to LNT is to conservatively assume radiation has the maximum effect not ruled out by evidence
No, the alternative is to use real data, rather than fabricate fraudulent data to fit the LNT model.
Namely, you need to look at the actual shape of the dose-response curve in the real world, instead of externally imposing a certain predetermined shape by fiat and fudging data to fit.
Here's one of the relevant timestamps from the talk, which runs on into Part 3.[0] However if I'm being honest, this talk is impossible to capture in a short clip suitable for modern attention spans. My apologies.
To keep from getting lost, one really should watch the whole thing before formulating the next counterpoint. Otherwise this will devolve into a very long and boring comment thread, where I laboriously digest the points from the video and feed them to you through an HN comment-sized straw. ;)
Re: Why is my dryer radioactive?
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm mildly disappointed that banana is not listed as option for test material
Even though bananas are famously radioactive, it's very low activity and I don't know that a regular detector could pick up the emissions from a single banana. You'd probably need a truck full of them.
For those curious about the radioactivity of bananas. https://what-if-origin.sciesnet.net/158/
Re: Why is my dryer radioactive?
#115I think the core of the explanation given is correct but some of the adjacent details need adjustment. The important part is: "Clothes dryers are very effective at making statically charged surfaces. (Dryer sheets help.) So when radon and its temporary decay products are blown through the dryer, electrically-polarized molecules tend to be attracted to the charged surfaces" What that commenter misses is that nearly al…
>What that commenter misses is that nearly all hobbyist grade detectors (Geiger tubes) are not sensitive to alpha from the original post: "If your Geiger counter is actually detecting radiation, it's almost certainly the half-hour lead and bismuth. " If you look at the table he provided lead and bismuth are beta decay. It is likely he is specifying that on the fact that most home geiger counters only detect beta and…
You are right, the commenter implied that.
Re: Why is my dryer radioactive?
#116I think the core of the explanation given is correct but some of the adjacent details need adjustment. The important part is: "Clothes dryers are very effective at making statically charged surfaces. (Dryer sheets help.) So when radon and its temporary decay products are blown through the dryer, electrically-polarized molecules tend to be attracted to the charged surfaces" What that commenter misses is that nearly al…
I have absolutely no need for your product, but I do want one and fully intend to gift them to others now. Great little device, awesome work.
Thank you! Most people don't need one (and hopefully it stays that way) but I still think it's a fun and educational device. If nothing else it's a conversation piece. :)
Re: Why is my dryer radioactive?
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
It can be an issue everywhere, Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking.
This claim (which ultimately came from the EPA) is suspect at best. It just comes from assuming a Linear No-Threshold model, which flatly contradicts the available body of medical evidence. https://youtu.be/TYZglUjLE0Y
It feels like this is something that should be easily amenable to statistical analysis.
Large numbers of people get diagnosed with lung cancer; smoking rates vary widely and smoking is typically recorded in patient histories; typical radon levels vary widely with geography and are recorded / known. This looks like a near perfect natural experiment, no?
Re: Why is my dryer radioactive?
#118[dead]
Re: Why is my dryer radioactive?
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
$149 for https://www.bettergeiger.com/product-list/p/better-geiger-ra...
I'm mildly disappointed that banana is not listed as option for test material
haha, yes... unfortunately they emit such an extremely tiny amount you can't measure it with ordinary means, I tried:
Re: Why is my dryer radioactive?
#120I think the core of the explanation given is correct but some of the adjacent details need adjustment. The important part is: "Clothes dryers are very effective at making statically charged surfaces. (Dryer sheets help.) So when radon and its temporary decay products are blown through the dryer, electrically-polarized molecules tend to be attracted to the charged surfaces" What that commenter misses is that nearly al…
Hey, that's a pretty slick package (and price point). I looked through bettergeiger.com and read the discussion about the difference between GM tubes vs scintillators, but never saw an indication of what material you're using. Would be useful information for those of us thinking of upgrading from an SBM-20.
I'm sorry to say that some of the sensor design details, including material and geometry, are not shared. That was a critical optimization process during the design phase (tricky balancing act between cost and performance) and I want to slow down any copy-cat devices. However in terms of performance I am pretty open and detailed about how the device actually behaves:
https://twitter.com/BetterGeiger/status/1475480971050901511
Another metric some people like is CPM/[uSv/hr] when exposed to Cs-137 (662 keV). That number is about 415, whereas cheapo Geigers can be as low as 10, and decent consumer-grade Geiger counters are usually around 120. This number gives a decent idea about relative X-ray/gamma sensitivity of those devices.