Asteroid use

--- tntucker@... wrote:
> --- In spacesettlers@egroups.com, "bill t"
> wrote:
> >
> > Americanium 242 is a man-made element with a half
> life of two hours.
> > Try figuring out how much you need to put 10
> tonnes in Mars orbit
> > before considering it as a propulsion force.
> >
> > Bill
> >
> Bill, Bill,
> I would certainly like to see your source on the
> above.
> My CRC 50th handbook on page B551 reports that Am
> 242m has a half
> life of 152 years. It also reports that Am242 ha sa
> half life of 16.0
> hrs so perhaps you got a reference that only showed
> the shorter half
> life? It appears that the Am242 decays into Am242m
> which is stable
> until until it decays or is used a fuel for a Mars
> journey.
>
> I have another source, Nuclear Materials and
> Equipment Corp. 1970
> which says that Am 242 has a half life of 100 years,
> and is listed as
> a neutron source.
>
> So, Americium is still a viable candidate for rocket
> propulsion
> provided we can get enough of it from reprocessing
> spent fuel rods.
>
> Regards,
>
> Tom Tucker
>
MW: My source gives Americium 242 a half life of 458
years?