A local engineer in Anchorage, Alaska has secured a used cyclotron from Johns Hopkins University. Everything was looking good for him until his neighbors found out. Now everyone is mad – but without real reason.
I think that physics must be taught at a higher level in public education to help people understand what is and is not a threat. A cyclotron, especially this small one, is not a threat. What it does is create some radioactive materials that are used in medical imaging methods such as PET scans.
Are there potential hazards with a small cyclotron? Listen to Roger Dixon of the Fermi National Accelerator laboratory or Fermilab in Illinois, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
“Cyclotrons are not nuclear reactors. Probably the worst thing that could happen with small cyclotrons is that the operator might electrocute themselves.”
Flouting their “common sense” in way of thousands of scientists with their “Ph. D’s”, the local residents choose to believe the cyclotron is dangerous. Local assemblyman Tesche gives a list of reasons why:
[Tesche] and others fear a particle accelerator could pose hazards such as radiation leak risks to nearby residences. They also think the large amount of electricity it consumes could drain available power in the neighborhood.
The best part:
In a letter to the city assembly, the South Addition Community Council compared potential damage from a cyclotron mishap to the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor accident.
I think that there was more involved in 3-mile island than the operator electrocuting himself.
I think that in the general populus, the word “nuclear” is freely associated with the phrase “not in my backyard.” Why? They don’t know – they just know that “nuclear=bad.” Because of these concerns, we are slowly killing the environment with output from coal burning power plants when we could be using clean nuclear power.
To solve this problem, I propose that the American Society of Physicists (APS) hire a PR firm to help them come up with some cutesy phrases to replace the word “nuclear” in things that they describe to the public. I think phrases like “puny-particle” might be okay. They could mishmash context and just replace “Nuclear” with “Quantum” and what they lost in scientific meaning they would more than make up for with positive buzz in society.
The only way the cyclotron could possibly harm his neighbors is if he were to hoist it with a crane and drop it on their heads in a cartoon-style killing. These people need a better grasp on reality.
