sci.physics.particle

Apparently this ion propulsion topic of accomplishing significant ion
rocket thrust via heavy and highly active/reactive ions is officially
off-limits, as in nondisclosure/taboo rated by those in charge of this
anti-think-tank Usenet from naysay hell on Earth.

I'm to guess that I'm never going to get my topic fair share worth of
those Google/NOVA gold stars.
. - Brad Guth

On Feb 20, 12:18 pm, BradGuth wrote:
> Remember, wherever there's Radon(Rn222) to behold, there's a great
> deal of Radium(Ra226) nearby, and of wherever there's Ra226 is where
> there's an ongoing 1600+ half-year life process of decay that's
> continually producing said Rn222. So, by all honest accounting, Earth
> is not exactly shy of its fair share of Ra226, of which can be
> gathered up and utilized for the breeder decay reactions of creating
> Rn222 or even of creating LRn222.
>
> http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/jun252002/1423.pdf
> Radon and helium monitoring in some thermal springs of North India
> and Bhutan
>
> "Lucas cell assembly was used to record alpha counts and the radon
> concentration is measured by using the calibration constant (10 counts
> = 1 Bq/l)."
>
> Table 1. Radon concentration in thermal and natural springs:
> "The highest value of radon (441.2 Bq/l) was recorded in a natural
> spring at village Swastik Burtu near Gangtok, Sikkim."
>
> How Dangerous is Radon in Buildings? Some Reflections from Europe1
> "The water contains 4500 to 12500 Bq/l radon. These. are by far not
> the highest concentrations known: in Bad. Brambach in Germany, for
> example, 100000 Bq/l"
>
> Therefore, I'll deductively conclude that a sufficient amount of Ra226
> does exist, and thereby a subsequent (use-it or lose-it) cache of
> LRn222 could be made available for an ion propulsion launch of a
> significant spaceship mass, without our having to create one kg worth
> of artificial fuel. Of course other forms or raw elements of heavy
> ions could be utilized, however greater amounts of applied energy
> would be required for utilizing those inactive ions that have no
> initial decay velocity to start off with.
> . - Brad Guth
>
> BradGuth wrote:
> > Using a Th232 breeder reactor of U233, and a good amount of Ra226
> > that'll subsequently breed those Rn222 ions, should make those
> > continuously available ions of Rn222 rather interesting, as offering
> > an extremely fast exit velocity of such hefty radon ions that can be
> > focused and/or pumped into a tight beam, much like a laser cannon.
>
> > Achieving an ion exit velocity of 0.2'c' or slightly better seems
> > doable, even though our firing tubes may seem rather long for our
> > interstellar craft that'll demand all the exit velocity that can be
> > forced upon those ions. Of course, once getting ourselves past the
> > interstellar L1 is when we'd have to start thinking of ion
> > retrothrust, unless overshooting the mark isn't worrisome.
> > . - Brad Guth