T--"Most radioactive waste is not released into the atmosphere - it is solid waste."

J-- Do you have any real figures indicating the percentage of air and solid pollution from "induced" nuclear fission?
Is it possible for the solid waste to "contaminate" the atmosphere? Explain your reasoning behind the answer to the previous question.

T--"U235 is U235, dont matter how you make it."

J--If the end result is a different isotope then the "potential energy" of the atoms will be different, if the potential energy is different then the converted "kinetic energy" will also be different.

"U235 is U235 is U235. It has 92 protons, making it U. It has 143 neutrons making it U235.
If it had a different number of protons it would not be U.
If it had a different number of neutrons it would not be U235.
Whether you make U235 from plutonium fission, loss of 3 neutrons from 238, or adding 2 protons to Thorium using very small tweezers, it's still U235.
Hence :T--"I think you need a little more chemistry learning.

Granted that U235 is U235, but this "argument" started from the fact that your information on the energy level of the element is different from my information. I reason that if both sources of information are correct then there is a fundamental problem with the understanding of the nuclear energy levels.
If there is a difference with the energy level of a nucleus depending on the way it originated, then that energy level difference could be related to the "density" or "binding energy" of the nuclear elements.

T--"Energy is energy is energy."

J-- Perhaps you do not understand the difference between "potential" and "kinetic" forms of energy within the confines of nuclear physics.

T--"Oh boy. Disregard for a moment that the energy received from the sun is, according to DFM's figures, 30,000,000,000,000 times greater than that expended by fossil AND nuclear fuel sources.
This relates to Tom's having a good long piss in the ocean, which has eluded you so far.

J-- Are you saying that we should be very worried about the small amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and totally ignore a similar or larger quantity of radioactivity in the atmosphere?

T--"Funnily enough, any energy released by fossil fuel burning or nuclear energy does not "remain" on Earth - like all other energy it eventually dissipates.

J-- Dissipates? How, why, and where?

T--"How you get to "over the time of a million years then the Earth will be twice as hot as it is today" is completely beyond me."

J--In your previous post you said that the Sun gives the Earth about 3.372*10e24MWH/year of energy, you also indicated that the figure is a million times more than the energy from nuclear (and coal) power plants. If this is so; and if the "energy" from the nuclear power plants is accumulated and remains on Earth for that length of time; then would it not stand to reason that a million years from now there would be about twice the energy density on the surface of the planet?

T--"14psi. Total pressure earth receives from atmosphere = 14 psi Outward pressure if atmosphere taken away is nonsensical. If you take 14psi away, the earth can expand to adjust.
J--Terrestrial Atmosphere
Surface pressure: 1014 mb
Total mass of atmosphere: 5.1 x 10e18 kg
Source: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html
1014mB = 14psi.
So?"

J--The actual figure is 14.6952 pounds per square inch or 2,116.102 pounds per square foot
What is the surface area of the Earth in square feet?

Question: What is the quantity of the pressure within the Earth that is exerted towards the atmosphere?
T--"Answer - it's 14 psi. This is bleeding obvious since they have to be in balance.
It's also a bleeding ludicrous question".

Sorry you didn't get my point. Since the pressures are balanced and there is a force of 5.1*10e18 kg or 2,116.102 pounds per square foot being exerted outwards from the planet, it seems to me that by decreasing the external pressure, the internal pressure will "enhance" the effects of volcanic activity and perhaps earthquakes.

"T--Try this calculation to see how ludicrously small this amount is - find the depth of a 1 sq. in column of rock that would weigh 14 lbs. Assume rock density is 3 g/cm3 and convert to imperial. Rough guesstimate - about 10 feet. Compare to diameter of earth.
J--Are you saying that if I removed the atmosphere from around the Earth, the Earth's crust would lift up by ten feet?
Johannes, you're extrapolating apples and aardvarks.
Again, this amounts to the same piss in the ocean concept.
Call radius of Earth about 41849280 feet. All of a sudden make it 41849270 feet.
Difference? Bugger all.

J--According to your figures, the distance of the surface to the center of the Earth, in any particular spot, would go down instead of up.

If the "radius" of a sphere was 41849280 and you wanted the surface to be 10 feet further from the center, then you would need to ADD 10 feet to the radius.
The "volume" of a sphere with a radius of 41849280 feet is 1,3715288e22. square feet.
The "volume" of a sphere with a radius of 41849290 feet is 3.0701098e23 square feet.
BIG difference. Could the surface withstand such a volume change without "cracking?"

T--"You exert a pressure of more than 14 psi whenever you walk.
Do you set off earthquakes everywhere you go?"

If my feet were big enough and my weight was great enough to exert 14 psi pressure over the total surface area of the planet, I'm sure the Earth would quake when I walked on it.

T--"What analogy can I use here to make this easier to understand?"

J-- how about explaining to me why I can support 14 psi of air pressure plus 14 pounds of extra pressure on my hand, but can not go into space without a space suit, after all, the air is ONLY 14 psi and if I go into space ONLY 14 psi is removed from the surface of my body..

--"snip"

T--"Oh well, at least I kept it civil.
Cheers,
Tony"

J-- Thanks for keeping it civil. You seem to understand the saying that; the more dirt you throw the deeper you get.

Johannes