• Over The Hedge: Banned Games

    From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Fri Sep 19 15:51:31 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips

    Over The Hedge: Banned Games
    https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2025/09/19

    Yeah, the U-238 Atomic Energy Lab should be banned if it ever really
    existed. However, I did see the rCLWargamesrCY movie and have wondered how true that could be.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Robert Carnegie@rja.carnegie@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Sat Sep 20 06:16:51 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips

    On 19/09/2025 21:51, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    Over The Hedge: Banned Games
    -a-a https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2025/09/19

    Yeah, the U-238 Atomic Energy Lab should be banned if it ever really existed.-a However, I did see the rCLWargamesrCY movie and have wondered how true that could be.

    Should be banned why? Yes I've read the comic,
    but is this just you kvetching again about energy
    production that isn't from oil? You being in
    the oil business.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Sat Sep 20 01:59:02 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips

    On 9/20/2025 12:16 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    On 19/09/2025 21:51, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    Over The Hedge: Banned Games
    -a-a-a https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2025/09/19

    Yeah, the U-238 Atomic Energy Lab should be banned if it ever really
    existed.-a However, I did see the rCLWargamesrCY movie and have wondered
    how true that could be.

    Should be banned why?-a Yes I've read the comic,
    but is this just you kvetching again about energy
    production that isn't from oil?-a You being in
    the oil business.

    Because U-238 is radioactive and children should not be playing with it.

    BTW, I am extremely pro nuclear. One of my former employers had to
    nuclear power plants here in Texas that I worked at for a day.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan@tednolan to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Sat Sep 20 17:25:16 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips

    In article <10aljbo$v9tr$1@dont-email.me>,
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 9/20/2025 12:16 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    On 19/09/2025 21:51, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    Over The Hedge: Banned Games
    -a-a-a https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2025/09/19

    Yeah, the U-238 Atomic Energy Lab should be banned if it ever really
    existed.-a However, I did see the rCLWargamesrCY movie and have wondered >>> how true that could be.

    Should be banned why?-a Yes I've read the comic,
    but is this just you kvetching again about energy
    production that isn't from oil?-a You being in
    the oil business.

    Because U-238 is radioactive and children should not be playing with it.

    BTW, I am extremely pro nuclear. One of my former employers had to
    nuclear power plants here in Texas that I worked at for a day.

    Lynn


    Isn't U-238 basically "depleted uranium" and almost non-radioactive?
    I thought that was U-235 that you had to worry about.

    I think the basic gag goes back at least to Charles Aadams.
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bobbie Sellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Sat Sep 20 11:34:31 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips



    On 9/20/25 10:25, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
    In article <10aljbo$v9tr$1@dont-email.me>,
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 9/20/2025 12:16 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    On 19/09/2025 21:51, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    Over The Hedge: Banned Games
    -a-a-a https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2025/09/19

    Yeah, the U-238 Atomic Energy Lab should be banned if it ever really
    existed.-a However, I did see the rCLWargamesrCY movie and have wondered >>>> how true that could be.

    Should be banned why?-a Yes I've read the comic,
    but is this just you kvetching again about energy
    production that isn't from oil?-a You being in
    the oil business.

    Because U-238 is radioactive and children should not be playing with it.

    BTW, I am extremely pro nuclear. One of my former employers had to
    nuclear power plants here in Texas that I worked at for a day.

    Lynn


    Isn't U-238 basically "depleted uranium" and almost non-radioactive?

    Not really non-radioactive but has a very long half-life.

    I thought that was U-235 that you had to worry about.

    Yes because it has a shorter half-life but is mostly produded
    by neutron bombardment of U238 to produce fissile material for
    bombs or reactors as 238 cannot sustain a chain reaction
    For bombs it is largely superceded by Plutonium which
    does not occur in our world naturally. Look up the production
    method. It can be produced in nuclear reactors and refined
    from the admixture of fuel minerals.>
    I think the basic gag goes back at least to Charles Aadams.

    Running gag in "Big Bang Theory" and in "Young Sheldon" is that
    young genuis Sheldon thought he could build a reactor to power up his
    home town at least and earned an FBI interview.

    bliss
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From William Hyde@wthyde1953@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Sat Sep 20 16:59:03 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips

    Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
    In article <10aljbo$v9tr$1@dont-email.me>,
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 9/20/2025 12:16 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    On 19/09/2025 21:51, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    Over The Hedge: Banned Games
    |e-a|e-a|e-a https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2025/09/19

    Yeah, the U-238 Atomic Energy Lab should be banned if it ever really
    existed.|e-a However, I did see the |ore4+oWargames|ore4-Y movie and have wondered
    how true that could be.

    Should be banned why?|e-a Yes I've read the comic,
    but is this just you kvetching again about energy
    production that isn't from oil?|e-a You being in
    the oil business.

    Because U-238 is radioactive and children should not be playing with it.

    BTW, I am extremely pro nuclear. One of my former employers had to
    nuclear power plants here in Texas that I worked at for a day.

    Lynn


    Isn't U-238 basically "depleted uranium" and almost non-radioactive?
    I thought that was U-235 that you had to worry about.


    About half of the radioactivity of naturally occurring Uranium is
    directly from u-238. About as much comes from u-234, which is a decay
    product of u238. Only about 2% comes from u-235.

    So if you clean out the 234 and 235 the Bq number should be cut in half
    - if you remove all of the lighter isotopes, which ISTR does not happen.

    ISTR a US gov document which claimed that the radiation was reduced by
    60%. Possibly so, depending on how we weigh the various alpha, beta
    (from decay products) and gamma emissions.

    Uranium alloys very well with steel. Before the discovery of
    radioactivity, builders were thinking of using Steel-Uranium alloys in
    the girders of high rises. Fortunately, it was too expensive at the time.



    William Hyde
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From William Hyde@wthyde1953@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Sat Sep 20 17:07:58 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips

    Bobbie Sellers wrote:


    On 9/20/25 10:25, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
    .

    I thought that was U-235 that you had to worry about.

    -a-a-a-aYes because it has a shorter half-life but is mostly produded
    by neutron bombardment of U238 to produce fissile material for
    bombs or reactors as 238 cannot sustain a chain reaction
    -a-a-a-aFor bombs it is largely superceded by Plutonium which
    does not occur in our world naturally. Look up the production
    method.-a It can be produced in nuclear reactors and refined
    from the admixture of fuel minerals.>

    In reference to another thread, I'd like to point out that the
    fissionable nature of Plutonium when exposed to slow neutrons was
    predicted before the substance was made by Wheeler - another Unitarian.

    Though in collaboration with Bohr.

    William Hyde
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Sat Sep 20 21:59:13 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips

    On 9/20/2025 2:34 PM, Bobbie Sellers wrote:


    On 9/20/25 10:25, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
    In article <10aljbo$v9tr$1@dont-email.me>,
    Lynn McGuire-a <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 9/20/2025 12:16 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    On 19/09/2025 21:51, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    Over The Hedge: Banned Games
    -a-a-a-a https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2025/09/19

    Yeah, the U-238 Atomic Energy Lab should be banned if it ever really >>>>> existed.-a However, I did see the rCLWargamesrCY movie and have wondered >>>>> how true that could be.

    Should be banned why?-a Yes I've read the comic,
    but is this just you kvetching again about energy
    production that isn't from oil?-a You being in
    the oil business.

    Because U-238 is radioactive and children should not be playing with it. >>>
    BTW, I am extremely pro nuclear.-a One of my former employers had to
    nuclear power plants here in Texas that I worked at for a day.

    Lynn


    Isn't U-238 basically "depleted uranium" and almost non-radioactive?

    Not really non-radioactive but has a very long half-life.

    I thought that was U-235 that you had to worry about.

    -a-a-a-aYes because it has a shorter half-life but is mostly produded
    by neutron bombardment of U238 to produce fissile material for
    bombs or reactors as 238 cannot sustain a chain reaction
    -a-a-a-aFor bombs it is largely superceded by Plutonium which
    does not occur in our world naturally. Look up the production
    method.-a It can be produced in nuclear reactors and refined
    from the admixture of fuel minerals.>
    I think the basic gag goes back at least to Charles Aadams.

    -a-a-a-aRunning gag in "Big Bang Theory" and in "Young Sheldon" is that
    -ayoung genuis Sheldon thought he could build a reactor to power up his
    -ahome town at least and earned an FBI interview.

    Doubtless inspired by David Hahn, the 'Radioactive Boy Scout'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn

    pt

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Sat Sep 20 22:11:05 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips

    On 9/20/2025 4:59 PM, William Hyde wrote:
    Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
    In article <10aljbo$v9tr$1@dont-email.me>,
    Lynn McGuire-a <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 9/20/2025 12:16 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    On 19/09/2025 21:51, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    Over The Hedge: Banned Games
    |e-a|e-a|e-a https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2025/09/19

    Yeah, the U-238 Atomic Energy Lab should be banned if it ever really >>>>> existed.|e-a However, I did see the |ore4+oWargames|ore4-Y movie and have
    wondered
    how true that could be.

    Should be banned why?|e-a Yes I've read the comic,
    but is this just you kvetching again about energy
    production that isn't from oil?|e-a You being in
    the oil business.

    Because U-238 is radioactive and children should not be playing with it. >>>
    BTW, I am extremely pro nuclear.-a One of my former employers had to
    nuclear power plants here in Texas that I worked at for a day.

    Lynn


    Isn't U-238 basically "depleted uranium" and almost non-radioactive?
    I thought that was U-235 that you had to worry about.


    About half of the radioactivity of naturally occurring Uranium is
    directly from u-238.-a About as much comes from u-234, which is a decay product of u238.-a Only about 2% comes from u-235.

    So if you clean out the 234 and 235 the Bq number should be cut in half
    - if you remove all of the lighter isotopes, which ISTR does not happen.

    ISTR a US-a gov document which claimed that the radiation was reduced by 60%. Possibly so, depending on how we weigh the various alpha, beta
    (from decay products) and gamma emissions.

    Uranium alloys very well with steel.-a Before the discovery of radioactivity, builders were thinking of using Steel-Uranium alloys in
    the girders of high rises.-a Fortunately, it was too expensive at the time.

    Depleted Uranium, which is basically U238, is sometimes used in
    situations where its great density (19, vs 11.3 for lead) is needed.
    This includes sailing vessel's keels, and aileron counter weights in
    airplane wings. Ironically, another major use is shielding for
    radiation.

    In the military, its also used for kinetic armor penetrators, since its
    high cross-sectional density helps, along with its self sharpening
    and pyrophoric properties.

    pt

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From William Hyde@wthyde1953@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Sun Sep 21 17:37:03 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips

    Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 9/20/2025 4:59 PM, William Hyde wrote:
    Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
    In article <10aljbo$v9tr$1@dont-email.me>,
    Lynn McGuire-a <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 9/20/2025 12:16 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
    On 19/09/2025 21:51, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    Over The Hedge: Banned Games
    |e-a|e-a|e-a https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2025/09/19

    Yeah, the U-238 Atomic Energy Lab should be banned if it ever really >>>>>> existed.|e-a However, I did see the |ore4+oWargames|ore4-Y movie and have
    wondered
    how true that could be.

    Should be banned why?|e-a Yes I've read the comic,
    but is this just you kvetching again about energy
    production that isn't from oil?|e-a You being in
    the oil business.

    Because U-238 is radioactive and children should not be playing with
    it.

    BTW, I am extremely pro nuclear.-a One of my former employers had to
    nuclear power plants here in Texas that I worked at for a day.

    Lynn


    Isn't U-238 basically "depleted uranium" and almost non-radioactive?
    I thought that was U-235 that you had to worry about.


    About half of the radioactivity of naturally occurring Uranium is
    directly from u-238.-a About as much comes from u-234, which is a decay
    product of u238.-a Only about 2% comes from u-235.

    So if you clean out the 234 and 235 the Bq number should be cut in
    half - if you remove all of the lighter isotopes, which ISTR does not
    happen.

    ISTR a US-a gov document which claimed that the radiation was reduced
    by 60%. Possibly so, depending on how we weigh the various alpha, beta
    (from decay products) and gamma emissions.

    Uranium alloys very well with steel.-a Before the discovery of
    radioactivity, builders were thinking of using Steel-Uranium alloys in
    the girders of high rises.-a Fortunately, it was too expensive at the
    time.

    Depleted Uranium, which is basically U238, is sometimes used in
    situations where its great density (19, vs 11.3 for lead) is needed.
    This includes sailing vessel's keels, and aileron counter weights in
    airplane wings. Ironically, another major use is shielding for
    radiation.

    In the military, its also used for kinetic armor penetrators, since its
    high cross-sectional density helps, along with its self sharpening
    and pyrophoric properties.

    Now that you mention it, I think it was a report on waste from depleted uranium munitions that quoted that 40% figure.

    Possibly even better would be, if it exists, a relatively stable element
    from the "island of stability". But that would be far too expensive for
    use in munitions. Though I sense there is an SF story there.

    On second thought, Delaney did use these elements in the plot of one of
    his novels. Nova, at a guess.

    William Hyde

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Sun Sep 21 20:25:25 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips

    William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
    Now that you mention it, I think it was a report on waste from depleted >uranium munitions that quoted that 40% figure.

    Possibly even better would be, if it exists, a relatively stable element >from the "island of stability". But that would be far too expensive for
    use in munitions. Though I sense there is an SF story there.

    That would be osmium. It's expensive, while DU is a cheap byproduct.

    I have used DU for speaker stands and also for test stands for inertial navigation gyros. It's heavy stuff, and not that expensive.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Mon Sep 22 10:19:19 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips

    On 9/21/2025 8:25 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
    Now that you mention it, I think it was a report on waste from depleted
    uranium munitions that quoted that 40% figure.

    Possibly even better would be, if it exists, a relatively stable element >>from the "island of stability". But that would be far too expensive for
    use in munitions. Though I sense there is an SF story there.

    That would be osmium. It's expensive, while DU is a cheap byproduct.

    I have used DU for speaker stands and also for test stands for inertial navigation gyros. It's heavy stuff, and not that expensive.
    --scott

    Indeed. I'm seeing DU at around &170/kg at the moment (its rising),
    while Osmium is about $1.35M/kg

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Torbjorn Lindgren@tl@none.invalid to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Mon Sep 22 16:26:45 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips

    Scott Dorsey <kludge@panix.com> wrote:
    William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
    Now that you mention it, I think it was a report on waste from depleted >>uranium munitions that quoted that 40% figure.

    Possibly even better would be, if it exists, a relatively stable element >>from the "island of stability". But that would be far too expensive for >>use in munitions. Though I sense there is an SF story there.

    That would be osmium. It's expensive, while DU is a cheap byproduct.

    Yeah the cost for Os is prohitive and that's not even the BIG problem
    with it! - osmium is one of the rarest elements in Earths crust
    (50ppt) and it looks like less than a ton is produced per year, and
    that comes as byproduct of mining for other minerals (mostly platinum
    group).

    And I don't think there's any plausible way to scale up that volume
    much without prices going through the roof from the already insane
    current prices since it would need to no longer be just a byproduct
    with the mine mostly paid by the "big" products.

    Now, to bring it back to SF this MAY change if/when we have metal
    asteroid mining :-) where Osmium should be a bit less rare. It would
    still be rare/uncommon but not quite as rare.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.comics.strips on Mon Sep 22 12:33:20 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.strips

    Torbjorn Lindgren <tl@none.invalid> wrote:
    Now, to bring it back to SF this MAY change if/when we have metal
    asteroid mining :-) where Osmium should be a bit less rare. It would
    still be rare/uncommon but not quite as rare.

    You know when your material is rare when the recommended low-cost substitute for it is diamond or sapphire.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2