Its about radiation and I am very curious

[Elsarian]

Is it possible for radiation to actually last 200 years after a Nuclear War? I mean wouldn't the radiation already have had time to to wear away? I ask this just out of curiosity because me and a friend were talking about Fallout and he said that the only thing about Fallout that annoys him is that radiation is still around after 200 years when it should already have died out . And I could not argue with him because I know nothing about radiation and how it works. So is it just something that applies to the Fallout universe or does radiation actually last that long?

 

Elsarian

[falloutperson416]

You have to think: There is still constant war happening throught the wasteland. Minu nukes, grenades, atomic bombs. All hosts of radiation. Plus, radiation can last 200 years, if the amount is great enough.

[Elsarian]

O.K. thanks. I just could not help but to wonder ever since me and my friend had that discussion. And I did not think about the constant conflicts and stuff still happening out there in the wastes. I suppose I was to busy wondering if radiation can actually last that long. But thanks for the input. My mind can finally rest haha. Thanks again.

 

Elsarian

[Hendrickx]

Well, radiation can last a lot longer than 200 years.

 

Here is something that may shock you:

 

The half-life (time it takes for half of the radioactive isotope to decay) of Uranium is between 700 million and 4.47 billion years (depending on the isotope).

 

Not all radioactive isotopes take this long, and some take longer. Although don't forget, that is a half life, so only half of the radioactive material is gone in that time, takes another length of the same time for another half to decay!

 

So as you know, the whole world was in a massive nuclear war, I am slightly surprised that the ground isn't glowing green! (jokes).

 

So imagine if most of that radioactive material was Uranium (which is currently the main radioactive material used in nuclear operations (although there are others)), then that means it will take another 3.5 million times longer for the radiation to decrease by half.

 

Although these figures would probably drastically drop due to other factors, in summary radioactive materials can last at least 200 years!

[Phalanx21]

Plutonium or Uranium, which ever they used with the bombs. The material will never acctually dissapear, it will just become really really small. It splits in half each "half life" which is the time it takes for half of the material to dissapear. And if you think, if nuclear bombs go off, the whole entire world would be radiated, not just the water.

[pkleiss]

I don't know where you heard that, but water can and does become irradiated.

 

Just remember that the half life of most uranium (4.7 Billion years) is longer than the age of the earth (4.5 Billion years). So after 200 years, the reduction in radioactivity will be negligible from the initial amount. Nuclear bombs are a very bad thing if you consider living impotant, that is.

[falloutperson416]

That is why the Nucl3ar bomb tests were held far undergrund, to pervent radiation from seeping out to the surface.

[pkleiss]

Water molecules pack together very tightly and are used as a shield, yes. But the water still gets irradiated. Nuclear power plants and submarines use water as a reactor coolant and when they leak, they radiate the surrounding areas. Its a problem.

 

Interesting fact - Did you know that concrete is every so slightly radioactive?

[falloutperson416]

No, I did not! Wow, i've got concrete in my backyard. Well, i'm a mutant now. Why exactly is it radioactive?

[pkleiss]

Concrete has fly-ash in its composition which is a by product of coal burning. Coal is mined from the land as you know, but there are other trace elements within coal that are radioactive. These get into the concrete mixture. But the actual radiation is insignificant compared to natural radiation that occurs throughout the world. It can make a sensitive Geiger counter tick though.