[time-nuts] How dangerous if Rb lamp broken?

[Hui Zhang]

Hello Robert:

I am a little confuse how exactly much Rb87 in a bulb? Some people say that it's couple millgram,  but you tell me it's half a millgram, which is ture?

You message is good new to me, it let me relax, but I don’t understand Bq/gram unit, would you please convert it to mSV unit, I can know the how many mSV of human is safety by search by internet. I mean in extreme situration, if all Rb87 of buld sprinkled in my table, how many exposure value will I accepet in 24 Hour?

I found some people (other electronics fan) wrote a formula about Rb87 radioactivity calculation, that is:

1mg Rubidium * 27.835 * 0.27835 * 6.02 *10^23 / 87/4.88/10^10/2/365/24/3600*1=625.

So, decay energy=0.283MeV, about 600 electron per second, Is this calculation correct?

 

27.835=Percent of Rb87

6.02*10^23 = Avogadro's constant

87= Atomic weight

4.88*10^10== Half time of Rb87 (Year)

2 = Rb87 decay to half

365 = day of year

24 = hour of day

3600 = second of hour

 

  I am very glad to read many relay of my email, I want say thanks for everyone. As you said why people be afraid of Rb87 but not other things, I think maybe because we don’t understand it. Such as, I don’t afraid of RF exposure, because I know it, I am a HAM and learned many RF exposure knowledge, but of atom and radioactivity, I have only poor knowledge.

 

  Thanks everyone again, this is amazing mail-list. Say sorry for my poor English.

 

Hui




At 2013-07-09 19:40:50,"Robert Atkinson" <robert8rpi at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>Hi Hui,
>Most bulbs use a mix of Rb87 and Rb85 with an activity of around 1500 Bq/gram with less than half a millgram in a typical bulb, that's less than a Bq per bulb (about 20 picocuries). You will get more ardiation from using low sodium salt (potassium chloride) on your food. Potasium is essential for life and Rb is chemically similar.
>In short don't worry.
>Robert G8RPI (also a geiger "nut" and collector of radioactive material)
>
>
>________________________________
>From: Hui Zhang <ba6it at 163.com>
>To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement <time-nuts at febo.com> 
>Sent: Tuesday, 9 July 2013, 5:07
>Subject: [time-nuts] How dangerous if Rb lamp broken?
>
>
>Dear Group:
>    I have four compact Rb Stanard, but I am worried about what if my Rb lamp broken in accident someday? How dangerous of this situration? Is Rb87 came out from Rb lamp will be a disaster? You know I haven't any beta rays detect instrument.
>
>
>Hui
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