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Radioactive decay affected by solar activity?

By Noah | August 25, 2010

Seems hard to believe but Purdue and Stanford researchers report that the rates of decay of several radioactive elements drop somewhat during periods of solar flare.  Amazing.  Thanks to @bramcohen and @daveo for passing this on.

UPDATE:  Discover Magazine reports that other scientists are skeptical, with some supporting reasons, but in the same article the original researchers stick by their analysis.

SEPT, 2010 UPDATE: Not surprisingly, more careful tests suggest that decay rates are constant after all.

Topics: Science | No Comments »

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