OOTS #1300 - The Discussion Thread

[bunsen_h]

Also, everything is radioactive. Photons are a form of radioactivity and everything with a temperature above absolute zero radiates them.

High-energy photons — gamma rays — are a form of radioactivity. There's a degree of flexibility in the definitions of what photons are considered to be gamma rays, depending on the subject under consideration. But not all photons qualify.

Now, if you're talking about a true black body, yes, there is nominally some gamma emission at any temperature above absolute zero. But true black-body objects don't exist, though I suppose a black hole might come close.

It's actually not a myth, in all likelihood, but it has nothing to do with thujone, less to do with alcohol than you'd think, and even less to do with real absinthe. The issues reported likely arose from counterfeit absinthes being coloured green with copper-based chemicals.

Good ol' copper arsenate!