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RebelWithoutAClue t1_j80pd2n wrote

Reply to comment by Natolx in Can the Radiation from a Sample of Depleted Uranium Sterilize? by Natolx

In terms of magnitude, 5x is about the same given the range of emmisivity that is observed with radioactive sources.

When one considers sterilization, one is looking for magnitudes of "kill". For instance, cooking chicken to FDA mandated temps results in log -6 reduction. One in 1 million salmonella survive the cooking process. I think that dental steam sterilization practices are going for log -9 reduction.

A multiple of 5 is not a considerable effect in the consideration of sterilization.

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iimplodethings t1_j82gk6t wrote

Exactly. I had a cosmology professor who rounded pi to 1 in estimating the average density of the universe or something

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UnoSadPeanut t1_j84ds8o wrote

Cosmology and astronomy are the only field of science where I feel that the numbers are just made up, and the measurements don't matter.

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StateChemist t1_j84nxf3 wrote

Had a few classes where if we were within one order of magnitude of the correct answer it was marked close enough.

With numbers so big it’s very easy to be off by wayyy more than that

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GyozaGangsta t1_j83fbcm wrote

In healthcare in America, we have a goal of sterility assurance to 10^-6 log reduction per AAMI standards but most IFU’s for devices set by manufacturers go for even tighter, some devices go beyond the 10^-9 but the trade off is damage to the device due to long exposure.

Part of the reason healthcare is so expensive is processing sterile instruments and replacing them fairly regularly, (a big push for single use disposable items is happening as a result but is also wasteful and expensive, but saves time on reprocessing)

Lastly a fun fact about steam sterilization, if you could fit the entire planet in a saturated steam sterilizer and ran it at 273 Fahrenheit for like 15 minute it would theoretically kill every thing on Earth. Nothing would survive. (Or it would be like .0000000000000001 survival)

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turgidNtremulous t1_j85d5kh wrote

Your imaginary planet-scale autoclave would not come close to killing everything on earth. It would just turn it into a planet full of extremophiles!

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