Posted on 09/09/2017 7:54:24 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Traces of xenon detected in S. Korea following N. Korea's nuke test
2017/09/08 20:01
SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Yonhap) -- Traces of xenon gas, a radionuclide, were detected in South Korea, the nuclear safety agency said Friday, five days after North Korea conducted its most powerful nuclear test.
The the radioactive material, the xenon-133 isotope, was found in the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission's analysis of ground, air and maritime samplings that were collected locally after the latest nuclear test by the North, according to the agency.
Defying international warnings, North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful yet nuclear test Sunday, claiming it was a hydrogen bomb that can be loaded atop an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The detected amount measures 0.43 milibecquerel per cubic meter or 0.03 mBq/㎥, according to the analysis.
The agency is currently tracking down the inflow of the material to conclude whether it is a result of the nuclear test.
The agency added, however, that the amount would not have any health effects as South Korea's background radiation currently remains at the usual level of 50-300 nanosieverts per hour.
P!
Was it ‘Warren’s Xenon’?//
Xe-133 hugs the ground because of its density. Our floor detectors would go off when we had a cracked vial of it. I wonder how long it takes to travel from the blast site to the detectors in S. Korea?
The agency added, however, that the amount would not have any health effects as South Korea's background radiation currently remains at the usual level of 50-300 nanosieverts per hour."
How convenient of them to give measurements in apples and oranges.
Well, we know one thing - This was not from a Hydrogen bomb!
The Xenon-133 isotope comes from the fission of Uranium-235!
So NK set off the normal run-of-the-mill NUK! Like the one set off at Hiroshima!
The have probably tested for Xe-133 and Xe-135 and other isotopes. More here:
Xenon and Particulates: A Qualitative Discussion of Sensitivity to Nuclear Weapon Components and Design
But it was powerful.
Does that mean it was the size of a house?
But doesn’t an H-bomb use an A-bomb trigger?
I think it converts to 188.34 nSv
Not being a nuclear physicist nor having stayed at a Holiday Inn, I have to ask -- Is there a way to directly convert a concentration (mBq per cubic meter) value to a rate (nanosieverts per hour)?
Hmmmm.
How did traces of any fission product end up hundreds of miles south of the test site where the prevailing winds have been strongly to the northeast since the blast????
Xenon-133 has a half-life of about 5 days, why are the trace amounts so low???
Xenon-133 would have been accompanied by many other fission byproducts, why aren’t they reported???
The Chinese and ourselves and Japan have been sniffing constantly downwind since the blast, but no reports from them???
Nevermind, I think that is incorrect.
Thanks. I’ll check that out when I’m back on my computer rather than my phone.
I heard that NK’s NUK Test was 5, or so, times the one set off at Hiroshima!
It only take 5-10 lbs. of U-235 to make a massive bomb!
And U-235 is made from centrifuges, starting with ‘Yellow Cake’ (normal uranium found in the ground).
Remember Einstein’s equation: E = MC2
Put in 5 lb of U-235 times the speed of light squared!
That’s a massive amount of energy!
The Norks use Plutonium.
It was likely a boosted fission blast, where an atomic bomb causes isotopes of hydrogen to fuse. So, it may have been a hybrid.
The advantage of REM - no mili or micro or nano anything. 1 REM ok, but need to start being careful. 10 REM - that's more than you are allowed in a year; find another line of work. 50 REM - you're sick man. 100 REM - you could die. 500 REM, you're dead.
I’ve read (here) that it was an “enhanced” or “two-stage”’fission nuke, not an true H-bomb. This would seem to confirm that.
Actually only a fraction of the fission material (uranium or plutonium) is converted into energy. But it still results in a massive amount of energy!
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