Chapter 10, Problem 82AP

Large amounts of depleted uranium $\left({}^{238}U\right)$are available as a by-product of uranium processing for reactor fuel and weapons. Uranium is very dense and makes good counter weights for aircraft. Suppose you have a 4000-kg block of ${}^{238}U$ . (a) Find its activity, (b) How many calories per day are generated by thermalization of the decay energy? (c) Do you think you could detect this as heat? Explain.