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Radon adsorption on an aerogel

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TypeOfResource
Text
TitleInfo (ID = T-1)
Title
Radon adsorption on an aerogel
Identifier
ETD_1381
Identifier (type = hdl)
http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.000051066
Language
LanguageTerm (authority = ISO639-2); (type = code)
eng
Genre (authority = marcgt)
theses
Subject (ID = SBJ-1); (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Environmental Sciences
Subject (ID = SBJ-1); (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Gases--Absorption and adsorption
Subject (ID = SBJ-1); (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Radon
Abstract
Radon is an important radioactive gas, responsible for environmental exposures and subsequent impact on human health. It is a Noble gas and under most circumstances is not chemically reactive. Its physical properties and resultant behavior, however, may not be simple in all cases, especially where barriers to free diffusion are present, or when encountering materials with special properties. The importance of radon comes from its radioactivity, by imparting energy in material after decay, with resulting damage to living tissue. Transport in the environment is controlled by its physical properties, since it is chemically inert. Aerogels made of silica glass are a relatively new material with the unique property of having a very large surface area, on the order of hundreds of m2 per gram, compared to the exterior surface of the bulk volume of typical solid materials. Insight may be gained into the behavior of both radon and unique materials by observing how radon interacts with such materials.
Silica aerogel monoliths with bulk densities of approximately 0.25 g cm-3 were manufactured and exposed to radon gas diffusing freely into the gel using a closed chamber. Measurements were taken while allowing the gas to diffuse out of the gel. Radon is found to diffuse out of the sample chamber at about the same rate when a gel material is present as from an empty chamber. Long-term measurements show radioactivity (from progeny) remains present leading to the conclusion that, the radon may have penetrated some distance into the gel. This leaves open the possibility of applying aerogels as a radon detector.
The aerogel manufactured in this study did not preferentially absorb radon. Some evidence suggests that radon may have penetrated the surface however, based on increased long-term radioactivity.
Doping the gel with cerium salts, known to cause glass produced by melting processes to scintillate when exposed to ionizing radiation did not produce observable light signal distinguishable from Cerenkov radiation, thereby excluding the hypothesis that the cerium will scintillate in the current arrangement.
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
Extent
x, 120 p. : ill.
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Note (type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-119)
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Carl J. Schopfer
Name (ID = NAME-1); (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Schopfer
NamePart (type = given)
Carl J.
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author
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Carl J. Schopfer
Name (ID = NAME-2); (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Lioy
NamePart (type = given)
Paul
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chair
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
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Paul J Lioy
Name (ID = NAME-3); (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Appleby
NamePart (type = given)
Alan
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RoleTerm (authority = RULIB); (type = )
internal member
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Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Alan Appleby
Name (ID = NAME-4); (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Christman
NamePart (type = given)
Edward
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB); (type = )
internal member
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Edward A Christman
Name (ID = NAME-5); (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Klein
NamePart (type = given)
Lisa C.
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB); (type = )
outside member
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Lisa C. Klein
Name (ID = NAME-1); (type = corporate)
NamePart
Rutgers University
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB); (type = )
degree grantor
Name (ID = NAME-2); (type = corporate)
NamePart
Graduate School - New Brunswick
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB); (type = )
school
OriginInfo
DateCreated (point = ); (qualifier = exact)
2009
DateOther (qualifier = exact); (type = degree)
2009-01
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg)
NjNbRU
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore19991600001
Identifier (type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T37M0851
Genre (authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
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RightsDeclaration (AUTHORITY = GS); (ID = rulibRdec0006)
The author owns the copyright to this work.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
RightsEvent (AUTHORITY = rulib); (ID = 1)
Type
Permission or license
Detail
Non-exclusive ETD license
AssociatedObject (AUTHORITY = rulib); (ID = 1)
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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Technical

ContentModel
ETD
MimeType (TYPE = file)
application/pdf
MimeType (TYPE = container)
application/x-tar
FileSize (UNIT = bytes)
2252800
Checksum (METHOD = SHA1)
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