The radioactive banana!

laguna · Nov 3, 2012

Bananas, like most organic material, naturally contain a certain amount of radioactive isotopes.

The major natural source of radioactivity in plant tissue is potassium, which in nature contains 0.0117% of the unstable isotope potassium-40 (40K). A typical banana contains about half a gram of potassium.

The radioactivity from a truckload of bananas is capable of causing a false alarm when passed through a Radiation Portal Monitor used to detect possible smuggling of nuclear material.

Some fish are cabable of detecting weak electrical signals using the electrosensory system.The visual system, The auditory system, The olfactory system, The mechanosensory lateral line system, The taste system, make up the six known sensory systems of fish.

It is believed that fish can detect and seek out the amino acids present in a bait using the olfactory system but how do they detect other nutrients such as minerals, if at all?

If humans with only five senses can detect the microwave auditory effect induced by pulsed/modulated microwave frequencies, is it inconceivable that fish may detect radioactivity emitted from a banana?

Discuss.

peter crabtree · Nov 3, 2012

sorry laguna, had to do a double take there and check the author of this post.
Thought for a moment Ron was back.....

laguna · Nov 3, 2012

peter crabtree said:
sorry laguna, had to do a double take there and check the author of this post.
Thought for a moment Ron was back.....

No mate you can always tell... no mention of walker or SA

Bluenose · Nov 3, 2012

Potassium 40 is largely a beta emitter (I didn't know this off the top of my head, I've just goggled it)... a beta particle when emitted through a radioactive emission is essentially an electron (I did know this already.. honest).

What you're asking is..." can fish detect individual streams of electrons?"

Titus · Nov 3, 2012

Bluenose said:
Potassium 40 is largely a beta emitter (I didn't know this off the top of my head, I've just goggled it)... a beta particle when emitted through a radioactive emission is essentially an electron (I did know this already.. honest).

What you're asking is..." can fish detect individual streams of electrons?"

I know an a well known angler who is convinced that he gets more bites when he is on his phone due to an emf forming around his carbon rod.

Who was it who said a little knowledge is a dangerous thing?

Bluenose · Nov 3, 2012

Interesting point Ade.

Maybe his line was a conductor... maybe a (reflo) powerline of sorts?

I'll get me carbon coat

peter crabtree · Nov 3, 2012

I imagine using a bomb rod would help...

Bluenose · Nov 3, 2012

peter crabtree said:
I imagine using a bomb rod would help...

Leger or float it's just fission at the end of the day!

peter crabtree · Nov 3, 2012

banana flavoured Atomic cloud in a feeder?

laguna · Nov 3, 2012

Bluenose said:
What you're asking is..." can fish detect individual streams of electrons?"

I was reading (as you do) about the Banana Equivalent Dose (BED) - a nonstandard unit of radiation exposure a person will absorb from eating one banana (it was either that or watch the X factor?)

I also once read of an experiment involving a lab rat sleeping peacefully that was subjected to a beam of silent, invisible, low dose X rays. In only a few seconds of exposure, the rat woke up, presumably wondering WTF was going on?
This experiment was repeated many times and always with the same outcome. If the x rays were constant, after some time the rat would just go back to sleep again.

I figured if a rat (animal) with only 5 known senses could be woken with an invisible x ray, could a fish with 6+? senses detect radioactive decay from the potassium present in a banana?

This sort of stuff keeps me awake at night... I really must get out more!

Bluenose · Nov 3, 2012

I've never placed a geiger counter near a banana (oooer matron) but am wondering by how much a single banana (or banana bait) would exceed background radiation...if at all? My gut feeling is that there would be hardly any difference and the fact that radioactivity is a random event.. I wonder if the fish would be able to 'home in' onto something that is barely different from background and also totally random.

laguna · Nov 3, 2012

Bluenose said:
I've never placed a geiger counter near a banana (oooer matron) but am wondering by how much a single banana (or banana bait) would exceed background radiation...if at all? My gut feeling is that there would be hardly any difference and the fact that radioactivity is a random event.. I wonder if the fish would be able to 'home in' onto something that is barely different from background and also totally random.

I understand radioactivity is a random event, it is impossible to predict when a particular atom will decay at an individual atom level but I believe the radioactive decay is constant.
An adult human body contains about 160 grams of potassium, hence about 0.000117 x 160 = 0.0187 grams of 40K; whose decay produces about 4,400 disintegrations per second.

Background radiation will have a different signature I guess than potassium, barely different possibly but still unique?

The bad one · Nov 4, 2012

Ah the Banana Paradigm! Where it's postulated that it can only be bent by a quokum shift in the radioonaphere (pronounced Radio Onaphere) by a shell value to power 65 to the nutreno weight and synthesized. Giving a mass weight of absolute zero minus 22.7

Berty · Nov 4, 2012

Wow......and here was me thinking i ate a banana because i was hungry!

Those in our fruit bowl have now been put into a lead box!

Do i need to wear my old NBC kit to eat my crunchy nut corn flakes with sliced banana on top.....is there a danger of some nuclear biological chemical reaction between bananas and nuts? It is a little alarming to us mere pleb peasants! !

chav professor · Nov 4, 2012

Brazil nuts have high radiation content too

But a little bit of radiation is actually good for you..... Really! Animals have evolved alongside 'background radiation' and seems to have some benefit. Even the bricks in your house emit a degree of radiation! Its unavoidable!

S-Kippy · Nov 4, 2012

chav professor said:
..... Its unavoidable!

As are banana related threads at the moment

---------- Post added at 09:57 ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 ----------

laguna said:
This sort of stuff keeps me awake at night... I really must get out more!

Yes,you should. Go buy a head camera

Berty · Nov 4, 2012

chav professor said:
Brazil nuts have high radiation content too But a little bit of radiation is actually good for you..... Really! Animals have evolved alongside 'background radiation' and seems to have some benefit. Even the bricks in your house emit a degree of radiation! Its unavoidable!

I think that the "Tardis" may well be powered by bananas and nuts!

Titus · Nov 4, 2012

No shortage of nuts round here at the moment.

Sean Meeghan · Nov 4, 2012

Too late Chris I've already done Schroedinger's Fish.:guinness:

cg74 · Nov 4, 2012

Titus said:
No shortage of nuts round here at the moment.

S-Kippy said:
As are banana related threads at the moment

Yep, and it's got all the more insipid, no make that tedious for it!

I await the next dull boring inane thread.......... Besides if it's all about the potassium, as I've said before chilli products have far higher levels in them.:wh

The radioactive banana!

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