RE: Radiation Leaks at Russian Research Center

[Lester.Slaback@nist.gov]

Well, since neutrons decay via beta emission one might argue that you
could describe them as 'radioactive' (albeit the newspaper folks would not
have this tidbit of info).

>Even the Laramie Daily Boomerang (our local paper) carried a front-page
>blurb about this from the AP service. It said a Russian Physicist was
>struck by a beam of "radioactive neutrons." I had to chuckle. My wife
>didn't know what was so funny, so I had to go into the explanation
>"...well, neutrons are a form of radiation, but the particles themselves
>aren't 'radioactive.'...You see, radioactivity is the spontaneous
>disintegration of unstable atoms... oh, never mind."

-- 
the above are the personal musing of the author,
and do not represent any past, current, or future
position of NIST, the U.S. Government, or anyone else
who might think that they are in a position of authority.
NBSR Health Physics
NIST
Gaithersburg, MD 20899
301 975-5810
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Lester.Slaback@nist.gov
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