heavy water

[Ken Frauwirth BioKen]

In article <1995Apr16.074831.5536 at henson.cc.wwu.edu>,
Phillip Bigelow <n8010095 at henson.cc.wwu.edu> wrote:
>
>For someone writing a murder mystery (as the original poster was doing),
>using D2O seems like the perfect "vehicle".  The chemical is inexpensive,
>available, and probably would be un-detectable in the average, every-day
>autopsy and coroner's report.  In real life, using heavy water would be a
>problem, because the murderer couldn't control the victom's in-take of water
>(without being detected as a suspect).  It would be pretty hard to spike a
>can of Pepsi, particularly if the can hasn't been opened yet, and the murderer- to-be is across town at the time.  It would also take too long.  If the muderer
>used tritium dioxide (T2O), the victom would probably set off a geiger counter
>during an autopsy.  Although it's doubtful that a coroner would habitually
>have a geiger counter near the autopsy table.  :-)
> 
>
Actually, although tritium is radioactive, the beta particles that it emits
are of such low energy that they are not detectable with a Geiger counter.
You need a more sensitive detection device (liquid scintillation, etc.)
Even less likely to find at the coroner's table :)

BioKen
-- 
Ken Frauwirth (MiSTie #33025)       _           _
frauwirt at mendel.berkeley.edu       |_) *    |/ (_ |\ |
Dept. of Molec. & Cell Bio.        |_) | () |\ (_ | \|  
Univ. of Cal., Berkeley      "Yes, we have second bananas" - Torgo the White