The strange case of solar flares and radioactive elements

[BadgerKid]

...

Ephraim Fischbach, a physics professor at Purdue, was looking into the rate of radioactive decay of several isotopes as a possible source of random numbers generated without any human input. (A lump of radioactive cesium-137, for example, may decay at a steady rate overall, but individual atoms within the lump will decay in an unpredictable, random pattern. Thus the timing of the random ticks of a Geiger counter placed near the cesium might be used to generate random numbers.)

As the researchers pored through published data on specific isotopes, they found disagreement in the measured decay rates – odd for supposed physical constants.

Checking data collected at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island and the Federal Physical and Technical Institute in Germany, they came across something even more surprising: long-term observation of the decay rate of silicon-32 and radium-226 seemed to show a small seasonal variation. The decay rate was ever so slightly faster in winter than in summer.
...

If this apparent relationship between flares and decay rates proves true, it could lead to a method of predicting solar flares prior to their occurrence, which could help prevent damage to satellites and electric grids, as well as save the lives of astronauts in space.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/august/sun-082310.html

It could be a new effect involving neutrinos or a new particle.

[dimbear]

1. This is an amazing result if valid. It suggests the following:

station a very accurate radioactive decay measurement system at a geographical point on earth's equator. Each day that point approaches and recedes from the sun by 8000 miles, about 10^-4 of the radius of earth's orbit, and in addition the whole mass of the earth intervenes between them. This may very well rule in or rule out neutrino effects.

Statistically, it's much easier to detect an effect with the much shorter period of a mere solar day. Alert scientists please credit dimbear.

[caraher]

2. Sounds like neutrinos are a prime suspect

The measurement with Mn-54 did show a decay rate change at night, so whatever it is must at least have the neutrino-like property of being capable of going right through Earth without much absorption.

I think your idea is perfectly valid. The variation in neutrino flux will go as the square of the distance difference (since this is all about solid angle, so you'd need to be sensitive to 1 part in 10^8. So this would be a very challenging measurement, since the decay rate will not be proportional to the flux, but will still be pretty close to the baseline rate. I think part of why they look at variations on time scales of a month or more (apart from the flare data) is that even in 24 hours it's hard to count enough decays to see an effect.

So the idea works in theory, but it's hard to imagine digging the effect out of fluctuations due to decay statistics.