Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 16, 2025
Rip added it to the front of the plutonium wedge along with a piece of beryllium from the bomb, and Kemp welded it in place. They put the thorium block which contained the plutonium into the hole, the plutonium facing outward. Trudeau rammed it to the bottom with his pole. The neutron source, the neutron reflector, and one piece of fissionable material were in place.
"We have to make the whole asteroid disappear, or else we have to conjure up a space cruiser out of the thorium. Otherwise, we have a little more than an hour before we’re either prisoners or dead!" Sergeant-major Koa had made no comment since notifying Rip of the call from Terra base. Now he asked thoughtfully, "Lieutenant, can the Connie launch boats this close to the sun?
"We'll find that asteroid for you, Mr. Planeteer. We'll put you on it and see you on your way. Then we'll ride space along with you, and if any Consops thieves try to take over and collect that thorium for themselves, they'll find Kevin O'Brine waiting. That's a promise." Rip felt a lot better. He sat back in his chair and regarded the commander with mixed respect and something else.
Kemp had his arm inside the hole and was peering past it as he finished the cut. "Done, sir," he said, and adjusted the flame to a spout of red fire. He thrust the torch into the hole and quickly withdrew it as pieces of thorium flew out. A stream of water hosed into the tube would have worked the same way. Rip took a block of plutonium from Dominico and handed it to Kemp.
Since he was in command of the detachment, he could in all truth say this was his own personal planet. It would be a good bit of space humor to spring on the folks back on Terra. "Yep, I was boss of a whole world, once. Made myself king. Emperor of all the metal molecules and king of the thorium spurs. And my subjects obeyed my every command." He added, "Thanks to Planeteer discipline.
The minute particles of two of the substances for many years classed as elements give off electrons; uranium and thorium are radio-active. Electrons are produced by sending an electric discharge through very small traces of different gases, using electrodes of different metals.
Every few moments he pushed another circle or spindle of thorium out of the hole. Rip directed some of the men to carry them away, to the other side of the asteroid. He didn’t want chunks of thorium flying around from the blast. The sergeant-major had a sudden thought. He cut off his communicator, motioned to Rip to do the same, then put his helmet against Rip’s for direct communication.
Professors Rutherford and Soddy have described them clearly in the case of uranium and radium. As regards thorium the results are less satisfactory. The evolution should continue until a stable atomic condition is finally reached, which, because of this stability, is no longer radioactive. Thus, for instance, radium would finally be transformed into helium.
Rip watched, interested in how his men would tackle the problem. He didn’t know the answer himself, because he had never driven a spike on an airless, almost gravityless world and no one had ever mentioned it to him. Pederson searched the gray metal with his torch and found a slender spur of thorium perhaps two feet high a short distance from the boat. "Here’s a hold," he said. "Come on, Frenchy.
The residue of carbon and thorium on the blast tube walls was stubborn, dirty, and penetrating. It was caked on in a solid sheet, but when scraped, it broke up into fine powder. The Planeteers wore coveralls, gloves, and face masks with respirators, but that didn’t prevent the stuff from sifting through onto their bodies.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking