Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Automatic Food Irradiation Fridge

Safer food storage
  (+4, -2)
(+4, -2)
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A conventional refrigerator, with an aperture in the top. In the aperture is a sliding lead shutter. Fixed above the shutter is a plate of cobalt-60 or caesium-137 in a lead casing. A dual failsafe mechanical interlock links the shutter to the door.

When the door is open, the shutter is closed. When the door is closed, the shutter is open. All the food in the fridge gets irradiated, killing the bugs and slowing down the decay of the food.

Once a year, a nice man from the Acme Radiation Corporation comes in a little van and swaps your old source for a new one.

8th of 7, Oct 17 2002

[link]






       How many of these can you fit in the warehouse before reaching critical mass?
hollajam, Oct 17 2002
  

       Fantastic. I'll have 2000. Do you ship to Southern Afghanistan...?
General Washington, Oct 17 2002
  

       Cobalt-60 and Caesium-137 aren't fissile <sigh>. So you can have as many as you like, I guess.   

       NB Important user tip. Don't climb inside the fridge to see if the light stays on when the door is closed. Not if you plan to have children, that is.   

       [GW] Yes, do you want it by surface mail ? For a small extra fee, you can have our special "B-52" airfreight service.........
8th of 7, Oct 17 2002
  

       Great, now instead of "dirty bombs" we'll have to worry about "refrigerator bombs" here in the U.S.
krelnik, Oct 17 2002
  

       But do I really want irradiated haggis? How much is the Acme Radiation Corporation going to charge for this swap out? Acme has never been known for their low prices. Just think how much Coyote had to shell out for those rocket launching roller skates.
lazloquezos, Oct 17 2002
  

       [lazlo] you *cannot* be a scot, you can spell.
po, Oct 17 2002
  

       Nope. I'm a geijing!
lazloquezos, Oct 17 2002
  

       prognosis?
po, Oct 17 2002
  

       UV light?
BinaryCookies, Oct 17 2002
  

       // UV light ? //   

       They're doing a diet version now ? Great ! All the destructive free radicals, but only half the calories !
8th of 7, Oct 18 2002
  

       What about my bio-active yoghurt? And my pet penguin?
whimsickle, Oct 18 2002
  

       "How long has that stuff been in there?"
"A couple of years, maybe. Get that Geiger counter."
"What, this one?"
<rapid clicking noises>
"Sheesh - and I thought Chernobyl was bad."
PeterSilly, Oct 18 2002
  

       Genuine question: can you use an electromagnetic source (such as an x-ray tube) for food sterilisation? I imagine x-rays have sufficient penetration, will they do a sufficient job of sterilising food (given that the x-ray spectrum goes from 120 to 120,000 electron volts)? Maybe practicality gets in the road and it's too hard to make a high enough volume of x-rays?   

       I would suggest, in all seriousness, that a suitable x-ray source such as an x-ray tube, should it turn out that they can be used for food sterilisation, would be an excellent home appliance. No nasty isotopes that could be harvested for "dirty" bombs or whatever. Prolly expensive, though.   

       I would imagine something akin to a microwave, with a door, rotating deck and sufficient shielding would be ideal.. Perhaps, if it were necessary to run a "cycle", say an hour or more, this device should include refrigeration as well.
Custardguts, Feb 16 2009
  
      
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