Thread: How do you neutralize radiation in Iridium?

I have a few questions related to Iridium.
I am writing a Sci-Fi story that takes place in 2045, a Robotics company creates a revolutionary new model of true-humanoid robot that's Bone structure is made up of an Iridium alloy. I chose Iridium because of its extreme strength, heat resistance, corrosion resistance, and the fact that it is the most lightweight of the strongest metals. I was convinced that in a Bone-structure format, it would assist the humanoid in resisting high-impact injuries, such as a low speed Car crash, low caliber bullet wound, or other injury. If anyone can help me out in THAT area or provide an even better substitute, or should the Iridium be mixed with a different compound as well?

And my final question is:
How do you Neutralize Radiation in Iridium? Through my studies, I have found out that Iridium can cause Cancer because it has a certain amount of radiation, and that may not be so good in the story of mine because the Biological external skin covering (Similar to the Cyborgs from TERMINATOR) may be damaged by the high radiation. I am trying to make this creation be as Human as possible without distracting from realism within the story.


Any advice would be very much appreciated, thank you for reading.

How about a Graphene skeleton? It is the strongest material known and would weigh much less than iridium of the same volume. Not sure what would be required to make a structure with it though.

A quick look at wikipedia confirms that the two most common isotopes of iridium (193 and 191) are stable (ie not radioactive). It's not possible to neutralise radioactivity, a substance is either radioactive or it isn't. However, you can shield radioactivity by surrounding it with a suitably dense material (like lead).

Kalster's suggestion of graphene may be something you should consider. Iridium is a rare element in the Earth's crust, therefore very expensive. It's also hard to work with due to its high melting point. Although its a hard metal, its also brittle, meaning its prone to fracture under stress rather than deform.

you missed on a couple of points
1 Ir and 0s are the two densiest natural elements, It would take Obams
budget to byild your bot.
2 Ir 192 is a manmade isotope , 1/2 lfe of 73.8 days and no you can not make
it not radioactive. be mostly gone in a year.
3 You want light weight, go for Be , and don't give me that toxic BS, I have a piece on my key chain.
4. Realistically carbon fiber composite is a good choice.
5 . Nothing is bullet proof if you use a bigger / faster bullet.
Good luck

First of all, natural Iridium is not radioactive. Iridium 191 is stable with 114 neutrons and Iridium 193 is stable with 116 neutrons. They are 37.3% and 62.7% of natural Iridium. Others are man made.

Now as for a Sci-Fi approach, maybe you should explore the 2:3 superspin of transitional elements. Maybe even pushing the electron orbits to provide monatomic elements.

In 2045 they will probably be pretty good at curing cancer, or maybe they have developed a radiation resistant strain to make the biological skin from.

I like the Graphene idea, Iridium would probably be hard to find but maybe I could find a purpose for it.

How about the muscular structure? What could replace that?