Some dangerously radioactive and toxic radium was dumped in the desert in 1950. It has a half-life of 50 years, and the initial level of radioactivity was r = 10.0 rads. Nobody remembers where it was. How much will it cost to find it in the following years if detecting radioactivity costs 5/r thousand dollars?
a. How much would it cost to find in the year 2000?
b. How much would it cost to find in the year 2050?
c. How much would it cost to find in the year 2130?
Scientifically, two quantities are close if it requires an accurate measuring device to detect the difference. In real life, accuracy costs money. How much would it cost to measure the differences in the above circumstances?