Russia Unveils Detailed Plans To Build 21 New Nuclear Power Units By 2030

[PamW]

44. NOPE!!

Kelvin,

That's why I referred to Professor Muller's book. One of the great MYTHS that the anti-nukes have conned people into believing is that radioactivity is "contagious". That is all you have to do is expose a non-radioactive material to a radioactive one, and the non-radioactive material "catches" radioactivity.

In order to make something radioactive; you have to change the nucleus; alter the number of protons and / or neutrons in the nucleus.

Radioactivity won't do that. Alpha radioactivity is the nucleus of Helium-4 - two protons and two neutrons. Unless the alpha has been accelerated to extremely high energy by a cyclotron; it will repel the nucleus and not interact with it.

Beta radioactivity is electrons. Electrons can't change the number of protons / neutrons. In fact the electron is only 1/2,000-th the mass of either a proton or neutron; so beta radioactivity can't make something else radioactive.

Gamma radioactivity is electromagnetic waves; like X-rays. Therefore they can't alter the protons / neutrons; they don't have any mass.

The way you make something radioactive is to hit it with neutrons; but that will happen only IN the reactor.

Contrary to a popular misconception among anti-nukes, radioactivity is NOT "contagious". You don't make some non-radioactive material radioactive merely because it was in the vicinity of some other radioactive material.
That's how it appears in the movies, for those that get their science education from Hollywood.

University of California - Berkeley Physics Professor Richard Muller makes this point in his book, "Physics for Future Presidents" on page 121:

http://books.google.com/books?id=6DBnS2g-KrQC&pg=PA121&lpg=PA121&dq=Muller+radioactivity+contagious&source=bl&ots=_0kXRDDnzu&sig=Wk6u3EEXz7vsIkNdqGAwG-OzCOw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=N2WlT--EL4rYiAL8htDuAg&ved=0CFoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/03/ask-a-nuclear-physicist-is-radiation-contagious-and-other-questions-about-japan

So NO the Rankine steam cycle pumps and turbine are NOT radioactive in a PWR nuclear power plant.

PamW