Cryogenics And Radio-Active Decay Of Human Body

[petrushkagoogol]

Would radioactive decay of K⁴⁰ nuclide in the human body affect the longevity of cryo-freezing experiments ?  :vava:  :vava: 

Edited July 22, 2017 by petrushkagoogol

[JMJones0424]

The half-life of ⁴⁰K is 1,248,000,000 years, so the answer depends on the time frame you are expecting.  I would suspect that a reasonable answer would be, "no".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_potassium

[petrushkagoogol]

The half-life of ⁴⁰K is 1,248,000,000 years, so the answer depends on the time frame you are expecting.  I would suspect that a reasonable answer would be, "no".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_potassium

 

In a human body of 70 kg mass, about 4,400 nuclei of ⁴⁰K decay per second. Would this not affect the stability of the human body. (preserved). ?  

[JMJones0424]

In a human body of 70 kg mass, about 4,400 nuclei of ⁴⁰K decay per second. Would this not affect the stability of the human body. (preserved). ?  

So? 4.4x10^3 is significantly less than one mole of ⁴⁰K.  At 4,400 nuclei decaying per second, you would need roughly 10^20 seconds of decay to end up with roughly 40 grams of decayed potassium, or roughly 230 times the age of the universe.

 

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=10%5E20+seconds

Edited July 26, 2017 by JMJones0424