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Chapter 19: Problem 83

A person received an anonymous gift of a decorative box, which he placed on his desk. A few months later he became ill and died shortly afterward. After investigation, the cause of his death was linked to the box. The box was airtight and had no toxic chemicals on it. What might have killed the man?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Given the circumstances outlined in the problem, it might be assumed that the box contained a type of radioactive material. This radiation could have caused the man's illness and eventual death.

Step by step solution

01

Analyzing the Box Content

We need to think about what could possibly be inside the box. It is mentioned that there were no toxic chemicals on the box. However, it doesn't mean that it might not have something harmful inside it. The box was also described as airtight, which restricts the possibilities to something that doesn't require air.
02

Hypothesize About the Cause of Death

Considering the given information, it could be inferred that whatever caused the harm was inside the box, as it was airtight. Radioactive material is one example of a substance that could potentially cause harm, due to radiation, even when enclosed in an airtight box.
03

Assess Identified Possibility

As the man became ill and then died after a few months, this would align with the symptoms of radiation poisoning. Any radioactive substance inside the box could have been continually emitting radiation, leading to prolonged exposure, illness, and ultimately, death.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

(a) Assuming nuclei are spherical in shape, show that its radius \((r)\) is proportional to the cube root of mass number \((A) .(\mathrm{b})\) In general, the radius of a nucleus is given by \(r=r_{0} A^{\frac{1}{3}},\) where \(r_{0},\) the proportionality constant, is given by \(1.2 \times 10^{-15} \mathrm{~m}\). Calculate the volume of the \({ }^{238} \mathrm{U}\) nucleus.

As a result of being exposed to the radiation released during the Chernobyl nuclear accident, the dose of iodine-131 in a person's body is \(7.4 \mathrm{mCi}\) \(\left(1 \mathrm{mCi}=1 \times 10^{-3} \mathrm{Ci}\right) .\) Use the relationship rate \(=\lambda N\) to calculate the number of atoms of iodine- 131 to which this radioactivity corresponds. (The halflife of \({ }^{131} \mathrm{I}\) is 8.1 d. \()\).

The radioactive isotope \({ }^{238} \mathrm{Pu},\) used in pacemakers, decays by emitting an alpha particle with a half-life of 86 yr. (a) Write an equation for the decay process. (b) The energy of the emitted alpha particle is \(9.0 \times 10^{-13} \mathrm{~J},\) which is the energy per decay. Assuming that all the alpha particle energy is used to run the pacemaker, calculate the power output at \(t=0\) and \(t=10 \mathrm{yr} .\) Initially \(1.0 \mathrm{mg}\) of \({ }^{238} \mathrm{Pu}\) was present in the pacemaker. (Hint: After \(10 \mathrm{yr}\), the activity of the isotope decreases by 8.0 percent. Power is measured in watts or \(\mathrm{J} / \mathrm{s}\).

Define nuclear fusion, thermonuclear reaction, and plasma.

How do nuclear reactions differ from ordinary chemical reactions?
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