I'm just quoting the article Arthur. I don't think there's anything wrong in saying there's a 1,600 fold increase if it's a fact. In fact, it's probably easier for laymen to interpret than some meaningless gauge such as mSv's. Don't forget, not everybody has the same grasp of technical terms as we do, and laymen are just as entilted to the data as we are. We have a duty to explain these things in plain english I think.
Japanese N-Plant Explosion
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In principle I agree, however experience has taught me that even numbers like '1600 fold increase' are largely meaningless to most people without something to put it into perspective, or to add context to it.
It's like talking about the peak ground acceleration in the earthquak. It's all well and good to say '2.7 g' but as I found out at morning tea, even to well educated, intelligent people that simply aren't physcists it's a pretty much meaningless number. It's not until you say to them that it's the equivalent of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h (or 0 to 62mph) in 1.05 seconds that they begin to realize "Hey, that's a lot".
Hi Trip. It's worth remembering that when publishers release this type of information they do often go for attention-grabbing headlines. This doesn't need any sensationalizing I think, as it's alreasy a sensational disaster without any media spin. But it's worth remembering that these are Japanese reporters, and not particularly given to sensationalism. For them, this is an amazing declaration.
Edit* They also have to couch things in terms that will not induce panic among thier countryfolk I think. They have been exceptionally measured so far, and not given to panicking. I think they have been a great credit to themselves.
Edit* They also have to couch things in terms that will not induce panic among thier countryfolk I think. They have been exceptionally measured so far, and not given to panicking. I think they have been a great credit to themselves.
What a little racist! You think an external stereotype actually describes these people as a whole, culturally? Do these people look quietly dignified and stoic?
Even history would disagree with you, tell me does these man look quietly dignified and stoic?
Anyways back to the point, it's certianly well known that Japanese CEOs love histrionics as a way of appearing penitent when they get unwanted attention. Captain Kremmen provided an example.
Oh please demonstrating that they are human beings with a range of personalities and likes is not racists!
Fetus:
Young men joking around on a TV gameshow, a young, alternative-punker type fellow doing a crazy stunt on TV, an a victorious soldier...those are three social situations FAR different from an older man in utter disgrace.
For him to break down weeping-lose his composure- in front of the media really is something.
AN older salaryman is expected to be more restrained in his emotional behavior than we are. Far more so. I'm actually really surprised you aren't familiar with Japanese culture enough to know this...I thought everybody watched Japanese movies and anime...guess not. More pity you.
I really will not be surprised if it's because he plans to kill himself.
Who cares?
Most news articles are written specifically to create fear and generate interest in finding out more.
1600 X increase is a meaningless number because it gives you no idea of the IMPACT that the existing level has on health.
As Trippy pointed out, 1,600 X "not much" = "bugger all".
Which is why the graph I pointed you to gave meaningful data.
In total contrast to your conclusion that this information had been kept from us and in contrast to your hyped headlines we can see the exact readings at the exact locations and get a good idea of the extent and severity of the radiation
If you are going to play the role of the person sifting through the data to give us the highlights at least you could do in a scientific manner and leave the hype to the people trying to make money off this disaster.
mSvs are NOT a "meaningless gauge".
http://www.mext.go.jp/english/topics/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2011/03/18/1303717_01_1.pdf
Ultra, this is friggin an ONLINE SCIENCE FORUM. Presumably people who are reading this here are reasonably scientific minded, so don't act like we are not. In fact the mSVs scale and it's effects on humans has been posted several times, so it is a much more appropriate scale and if someone doesn't get it, they can ask you to break it down for them.
Arthur
And they're ALL PHYSICISTS are they? Well that's news to me. Just because you claim to understand it doesn't mean every-one else does. What arrogance!
BS, It's just the opposite of arrogance.
I presume the readers of my posts are intelligent enough to understand basic scientific terms relating to radiation, particularly considering the people are reading the 27th page of a thread on an this issue where dosage rates have been discussed using Sieverts since the first friggin day. I also presume that is someone doesn't understand, they will ask for clarification.
What I don't do is feed them meaningless data and then try to justify it by claiming some of the readers can only handle meaningless data.
Arthur
According to Professor Wakeman, a Professor of Radiation exposure at Manchester University, the release of radiation to date will not cause much harm to the general population. They are far below what is considered to cause harm.
.......Officials said the tap water (in Tokyo) showed 210 becquerels per litre of iodine-131 - more than twice the recommended limit of 100 becquerels per litre for infants. The recommended limit for adults is 300 becquerels. (Becquerels is a measure of radiation emmitted whereas millisieverts is a measure of dosage on the body).
Professor Richard Wakeford says that infants who drank water contaminated at the Japanese limit of 100 becquerels for a year would effectively receive a dose of 0.4 millisieverts of radiation.
...........even a dose of 100 millisieverts over a year is enough to raise the risk of cancer (in an adult), and a dose of 250 millisieverts could raise lifetime risk by around 1%.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/health-12722435
Having said that.
The killer radiation cloud should reach the UK by the weekend.
Stand by for panic.
.......Officials said the tap water (in Tokyo) showed 210 becquerels per litre of iodine-131 - more than twice the recommended limit of 100 becquerels per litre for infants. The recommended limit for adults is 300 becquerels. (Becquerels is a measure of radiation emmitted whereas millisieverts is a measure of dosage on the body).
Professor Richard Wakeford says that infants who drank water contaminated at the Japanese limit of 100 becquerels for a year would effectively receive a dose of 0.4 millisieverts of radiation.
...........even a dose of 100 millisieverts over a year is enough to raise the risk of cancer (in an adult), and a dose of 250 millisieverts could raise lifetime risk by around 1%.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/health-12722435
Having said that.
The killer radiation cloud should reach the UK by the weekend.
Stand by for panic.
That looks like Kansai humor 
Japanese are stoic. Some historians argue that Japanese stoicism is a legacy of ancient Greek stoicism that was carried to Japan as a defining part of GreccoBuddhism.
It should be noted that the stoic Greeks created plays of Tragedy AND Comedy.
Shocking about the drinking water - lets hope this gets sorted soon.
Japanese are stoic. Some historians argue that Japanese stoicism is a legacy of ancient Greek stoicism that was carried to Japan as a defining part of GreccoBuddhism.
It should be noted that the stoic Greeks created plays of Tragedy AND Comedy.
Shocking about the drinking water - lets hope this gets sorted soon.
Oh I know that which is may point that Japanese CEO are histrionic when they get unwanted attention, that kind of appearance of genuine penances is unexpected from a old harden business asshole, it throws their accusers off.
And no Anime is not a window into their world, unless you think japan is constantly under attack by giant robots! Tell me does HipHop provide an accurate picture of urban city life? Does Law&Order or that CSI show provide an accurate picture of the Justice system?
Television, movies and created media is a funhouse view into the psyche of any culture.
Accurate? even documentaries come with selection bias.
Anything created for entertainment isn't accurate...but it can be very revealing of stereotyped roles, societal expectations, wishes, dreams, nightmares, projections...
Besides that, I do read stuff. ( I'm actually a lot more of a reader, movies make me fidgetty.)
And if you knew that histrionics was something unexpected, out-of-character, perhaps induced for effect, then why would you give a flip answer indicating the opposite?
Especially when you could have predicted we'd likely go all PC police on you?
BTW:
A lot of the Japanese "disaster movie" genre (including the whole giant robots attacking thing) has to do with the atomic bombs being dropped, according to what I've read of social psychologists' opinions on the matter. Anime is a lot more than giant robots, I was actually thinking of "Spirited Away," when I wrote that, or some of the incidental, non hoodlum people you see in "Akira." Neither of which involve giant robots. "Grave of the fireflies" is a beautiful animated film and quite possibly the most depressing thing I've ever SEEN. Also no robots.
..And I haven't gotten all the way through Macross.
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Didn't say it was not revealing, merely that the image it provides is askew, an not something one can derive generalized stereotypes from. Anyways the stereotypes that they all are stoic and have quite dignity is total BS, you don't even see it in their media even, so the accuracy of the image there media provides is not really an issue. The stoic stereotype of the Japanese seems more like a stereotype of them we project into our media.
We don't expect say Donald Trump to break down crying, is that because of his Japanese stoic nature and his quite dignity? Or is it because he is a CEO and in particular a giant egotistical asshole of one?
Giant robots was an example, geez!
Gundam made me tired of giant robots like Agent Aika made me tired of panty shots.
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I read nothing into it. All of the reactors had power restored days ago as you well know. The problem is with equipment wrecked by fires, explosions, a tsunami and water-dumps, as you also know, and work has been delayed by evacuations of the plant due to high radiation levels. The civillian authorities have not had nearly so many problems.
Power has now been restored to the control room of reactor 1.
Power has now been restored to the control room of reactor 1.
The time it took to get power to the site has nothing to do with what was going on at the plant, the point was that it took 6 days just to get the Power Line to the Reactor site, yet they apparently had enough Electrical workers to be simultaneously working on restoring power to homes.
Arthur
Arthur