Plutonium Powered Pacemaker (From 1974)
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Re: Plutonium Powered Pacemaker (From 1974)
#2For context, the 0.1 rem yearly dose to the patient is about 1/6th of the average background dose we all get every year.
This Pu-238 is the same stuff that's powering the Voyager probes and a few Mars rovers.
Note that it's not Pu-239, which is fissile nuclear fuel for chain reactions (power plants, bombs, etc.)
Re: Plutonium Powered Pacemaker (From 1974)
#3For context, the 0.1 rem yearly dose to the patient is about 1/6th of the average background dose we all get every year. This Pu-238 is the same stuff that's powering the Voyager probes and a few Mars rovers. Note that it's not Pu-239, which is fissile nuclear fuel for chain reactions (power plants, bombs, etc.)
> For context, the 0.1 rem yearly dose to the patient is about 1/6th of the average background dose we all get every year.
Wouldn't you be more concerned about dose rates in tissues near the device though, rather than whole body dose? At the surface of the pacemaker it would be about 90 rem / year.
Re: Plutonium Powered Pacemaker (From 1974)
#4For context, the 0.1 rem yearly dose to the patient is about 1/6th of the average background dose we all get every year. This Pu-238 is the same stuff that's powering the Voyager probes and a few Mars rovers. Note that it's not Pu-239, which is fissile nuclear fuel for chain reactions (power plants, bombs, etc.)
> For context, the 0.1 rem yearly dose to the patient is about 1/6th of the average background dose we all get every year. Wouldn't you be more concerned about dose rates in tissues near the device though, rather than whole body dose? At the surface of the pacemaker it would be about 90 rem / year.
REM is already an adjusted measure for absorption, not an general quantity of radiation.
Re: Plutonium Powered Pacemaker (From 1974)
#5For context, the 0.1 rem yearly dose to the patient is about 1/6th of the average background dose we all get every year. This Pu-238 is the same stuff that's powering the Voyager probes and a few Mars rovers. Note that it's not Pu-239, which is fissile nuclear fuel for chain reactions (power plants, bombs, etc.)
> For context, the 0.1 rem yearly dose to the patient is about 1/6th of the average background dose we all get every year. Wouldn't you be more concerned about dose rates in tissues near the device though, rather than whole body dose? At the surface of the pacemaker it would be about 90 rem / year.
Pu-238 decays mainly by alpha decay which would be easily contained by the titanium casing.
Re: Plutonium Powered Pacemaker (From 1974)
#6More interesting to me is how this tech was programmed. There would have been some external unit to set parameters.
Re: Plutonium Powered Pacemaker (From 1974)
#7More interesting to me is how this tech was programmed. There would have been some external unit to set parameters.
Since it's from 1974, my guess is a few trimpots behind a sealed cover.
Re: Plutonium Powered Pacemaker (From 1974)
#8> Dose rates at the surface of the pacemaker are approximately 5 to 15 mrem per hour from the emitted gamma rays and neutrons.
Where are these gamma rays and neutrons coming from? The decay chain for Pu-238 is via alpha emission (Pu-238 -> U-234 -> Th-230 -> ...) which won't penetrate the casing.
Re: Plutonium Powered Pacemaker (From 1974)
#9For context, the 0.1 rem yearly dose to the patient is about 1/6th of the average background dose we all get every year. This Pu-238 is the same stuff that's powering the Voyager probes and a few Mars rovers. Note that it's not Pu-239, which is fissile nuclear fuel for chain reactions (power plants, bombs, etc.)
Yeah but their spouse :-) 75x larger dose.
Re: Plutonium Powered Pacemaker (From 1974)
#10> Dose rates at the surface of the pacemaker are approximately 5 to 15 mrem per hour from the emitted gamma rays and neutrons. Where are these gamma rays and neutrons coming from? The decay chain for Pu-238 is via alpha emission (Pu-238 -> U-234 -> Th-230 -> ...) which won't penetrate the casing.
Possibly Pu-239 or other impurities.