Re: Radioactive decay and long-term preservation

David Lubkin (lubkin@unreasonable.com)
Fri, 22 Oct 1999 12:30:35 -0400

Once full-blown nanotech is here, is it feasible to go through an object atom-by-atom and replace all radioisotopes (not just the C14) with non-radioactive isotopes?

How would the waste isotopes be safely removed from the object?

Could this be done in vivo to living objects?

Can a form of utility fog be used to prevent new radioisotopes in the object by blocking (a) intake of radioisotopes and (b) creation of radioisotopes by external influences (cosmic rays, etc)? Is it an inherent consequence of quantum mechanics that you can't prevent formation of radioisotopes within an object?

Beyond Spike's examples, what uses would there be for completely non-radioactive objects? Perhaps in scientific research?

What uses would there be for objects whose radioactivity is precisely positioned?

What would be the biological and geological repercussions if the entire planet, from core to biosphere, were made radioactivity-free? What would the impact on evolution have been if this had been done by a Power a few billion years ago?

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