[Alt History] Alternative conclusion to the Pacific conflict in WW 2

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by ak_aramis

The problem I see is that NASA has noted radioactive decay thermopiles seem to result in much more rapid corrosion and the thermocouples decay faster than expected (resulting in the failures of the Pioneers before expected failure dates); ]

Why would this be relevant to nukes? RTGs use isotopes with far shorter half-lives (c. three orders of magnitude) and don't have thermocouples to corrode anyway.

[ak_aramis]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Why would this be relevant to nukes? RTGs use isotopes with far shorter half-lives (c. three orders of magnitude) and don't have thermocouples to corrode anyway.

Every dissimilar metal joint is effectively also a low efficiency thermocouple.

The neutron radiation of Pu239 is still notable, and can cause failures and radioactive metal decay. It's not been well tested, and the only data points on long term effects that are well reviewed are all from thermopiles using Pu238.