caesium magnetometers

[mak]

Caesium has at least 8 (count 'em) radioactive isotopes as well as at least 1 non radioactive form so the important question is not whether Caesium is radioactive but which isotope of Caesium are you referring to

Radioactive isotopes of Caesium
Non radioactive isotopes of Caesium

Just a wild guess, but given it's a device to very sensitively measure magnetic fields I would imagine that they would want to mimise the presence of ionising or charged radiation.

 

[drainrat]

.....twat the probes with a hammer.....

Is that a scientific term? 

 

[Peter Burgess]

Caesium has at least 8 (count 'em) radioactive isotopes as well as at least 1 non radioactive form so the important question is not whether Caesium is radioactive but which isotope of Caesium are you referring to

Radioactive isotopes of Caesium
Non radioactive isotopes of Caesium

Just a wild guess, but given it's a device to very sensitively measure magnetic fields I would imagine that they would want to mimise the presence of ionising or charged radiation.

Perhaps if you are measuring variations in magnetic fields, then the effect those variations have on charged particle emissions might be precisely why they would use a radioactive isotope.

 

[mak]

Having read the original reference it mentions it uses the non radioactive isotope, but having read how it works I suspect it would work just as well with the radioactive isotopes.

well saying that only one of the isotopes has a long enough half life - all the others would have the annoying habit of decaying quite quickly to something other than ceasium, which would kind of bugger up the equipment as it a property of ceasium and it's orbiting electrons that they are utilising, which is why the long lived isotope would be ok as it will have the same electron properties.

you can tell I'm bored at work - think I'll go and get a coffee