Nuclear Science 101 Mystery Cache
Hidden : 4/30/2013
Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


After a long absence, the cache is ready to be found again. A huge thank you to Hypocorism for assisting in cache maintenance.


Did you know there is a small nuclear reactor at RMC? It is called a SLOWPOKE-2 reactor and is one of six built at Canadian universities. It is used mostly for imaging and radiation experiments and does not generate electricity. Don't worry about an imminent meltdown: the reactor only produces 20 kW of heat, the equivalent of 20 hair driers set on high.

In honour of the RMC reactor, here is a nuclear themed puzzle:

Chemists use the periodic table to determine how different elements will interact. It has been known to be used for puzzle caches ;) but this cache will require something more advanced.

Nuclear scientist are interested in radioactivity, so they use the periodic table's big brother, the chart of nuclides. This chart lists every isotope of every element, radioactive and non-radioactive. You can find an online version here.

http://atom.kaeri.re.kr/

To solve this puzzle, you need to look up the half lives of some radioactive materials. A half-life is the time it takes for a material to lose 50% of its radioactivity.

For each value, round to the nearest whole number. Pay attention to your units! (minutes, hours, etc.)

North

Degrees: Cobalt-50 in milliseconds (ms)
Minutes: Phosphorous-32 in days
Decimal: Gallium-73 in minutes

West

Degrees: Cerium-134 in hours
Minutes: Curium-240 in days
Decimal: Iodine-123 in minutes PLUS 5


Please do not disturb the landscaping at GZ!!! You won't have to pull anything apart to reach the cache.
In the unlikely event that you are a nuclear scientist with other resources to find this information, please use the above link, as other sources sometimes have slightly different numbers.

You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.


The geochecker is a little bit forgiving but will get you to the right area, use your geosenses from there .

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

AJ pbeare, ernpu haqre.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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