Firing radioactive stuff at high speed under city streets

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  • čas přidán 4. 12. 2022
  • TRIUMF's Rabbit Line, on the University of British Columbia campus, sends slightly radioactive material under the streets of Vancouver at 100km/h (60mph). Here's how and why. ◾ More: www.triumf.ca/headlines/curre...
    Edited by Michelle Martin / mrsmmartin
    🟥 MORE FROM TOM: www.tomscott.com/
    (you can find contact details and social links there too)
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Komentáře • 1,5K

  • @TomScottGo
    @TomScottGo  Před rokem +1111

    Going to use this to plug my other stuff: there's a new Technical Difficulties season over at czcams.com/users/techdif and Lateral continues at lateralcast.com and czcams.com/users/lateralcast !

    • @tacohead8543
      @tacohead8543 Před rokem +22

      Tom accidentally shows that he's a time traveler once again. 3 damn days ago.

    • @lahavmorris9919
      @lahavmorris9919 Před rokem +1

      Epic vid

    • @uttams.6033
      @uttams.6033 Před rokem +1

      Another great video, also UBC is an amazing university!

    • @harleywoods9619
      @harleywoods9619 Před rokem +3

      3 days ago?

    • @freddierhodes8201
      @freddierhodes8201 Před rokem +9

      @@harleywoods9619 uploads them privately in advance, then releases them later

  • @ondank
    @ondank Před rokem +11509

    Yang : Fluently explains the complex elements behind getting the isotope and sending them to the hospital
    Also Yang : What happens when it gets there? Beats me, fricking magic those chemists.

    • @ThisGM
      @ThisGM Před rokem +1666

      If it's more than two particles, three in special circumstances, it's just too complicated for physicists.

    • @reganator5000
      @reganator5000 Před rokem +2148

      an expert is all too aware of exactly how much they do not know.

    • @ondank
      @ondank Před rokem +1426

      @@reganator5000 very true but it was just so funny to hear technically explain everything and then go "and at this stage chemistry magic happens"

    • @lewismassie
      @lewismassie Před rokem +859

      When it comes to high-level scientists, their knowledge is often a mile deep but only an inch wide.

    • @Irondragon1945
      @Irondragon1945 Před rokem +239

      Only someone with fundamental understanding of a subject really knows how deep the rabbit hole goes or something

  • @Eyes0penNoFear
    @Eyes0penNoFear Před rokem +2840

    I used to work at a bank, and this reminds me of the drive-thru tubes used to send money and whatnot back and forth.
    One weekend while at work I was really hungry. The lobby was closed on weekends, and we were encouraged to stay inside for the entire shift so we didn't have to unlock exterior doors. But I was hungry. So I called Jimmy John's and asked them if they thought a sandwich would fit through one of our tubes. They obviously had never been asked that question before, but were willing to try. It worked perfectly, and the driver got a nice tip!

    • @pattheplanter
      @pattheplanter Před rokem +333

      Money has a half-life, though longer than 20 minutes in most countries.

    • @bella380
      @bella380 Před rokem +31

      Great story! Thank you for sharing.

    • @catherinegarmon3027
      @catherinegarmon3027 Před rokem +83

      Tip from you, or a hundo from the drawer?

    • @Eyes0penNoFear
      @Eyes0penNoFear Před rokem +134

      @@catherinegarmon3027 haha! As long as my drawer balanced at the end of the day, it doesn't matter 😉

    • @gefloigle
      @gefloigle Před rokem +95

      Whoa, hold the vacuum tube for a second, professor. You found a Jimmy John’s that had a delivery radius greater than 35 feet?!

  • @declantuffy9385
    @declantuffy9385 Před rokem +1375

    It's called the rabbit line as an internal pipe diameter gauge (like the thing sent down the tubes here) is called a rabbit in the oilfield/pipeline industry, part of a long line of animal-themed nicknames:
    - Rabbit: internal pipe diameter gauge
    - Pig: plug pumped along to scrape inside of pipe and clean it
    - Fish: something dropped inside the pipe you need to go and "fish" out
    - Pup: a shorter than normal joint of pipe
    - Mouse hole: A hole in the floor for standing up a section of pipe before joining it to the rest
    - Bull plug: A blank/blind-ended plug that seals off the pipe

    • @Obscurai
      @Obscurai Před rokem +25

      And all the Rathole drilling companies.

    • @sarahprunierlaw9147
      @sarahprunierlaw9147 Před rokem +9

      neat!

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 Před rokem +30

      Cool. I didn't expect there'd be a real answer to that question.

    • @jimdennis2451
      @jimdennis2451 Před rokem +32

      We had an old pneumatic tube system on my Navy ship. We called it the "bunny tube".

    • @krakenpots5693
      @krakenpots5693 Před rokem +1

      Ah, that's not the explanation I know... mine is more akin the the cleaning device being known as a rabbit...

  • @PQRDG
    @PQRDG Před rokem +1077

    As a Canadian, I am very glad Tom Scott has taught me a lot of things I didn’t know about my country over the past few weeks

    • @cloverhighfive
      @cloverhighfive Před rokem +31

      And as a Canadian, I also know the distances he traveled between the places he went to... 0_o this trip can't be labeled as "ah, while I'm the area"... 😂

    • @aselwyn1
      @aselwyn1 Před rokem +1

      @@cloverhighfive i know right there was a lot of flying involved for this

    • @krashd
      @krashd Před rokem

      @@aselwyn1 I don't think Tom would fly unless there was water as an obstacle.

    • @aselwyn1
      @aselwyn1 Před rokem +9

      @@krashd i highly doubt he drove or took any train from the maritimes to British Columbia.

  • @reddevilfan100
    @reddevilfan100 Před rokem +6658

    I work in the same department as a lot of PET imaging and we have a group that makes lots of radio-pharmaceuticals which then need to go to an imaging facility. Luckily for us that imaging facility is right across the street so I'll often see grad students wheeling a dolly with a lead-shielded ammo box to move them rather than a high speed pneumatic tube!

    • @hammerth1421
      @hammerth1421 Před rokem +424

      I study chemistry in Hamburg and the technical chemistry and pharmaceutical departments are on the other side of the street from the main chemistry faculty, so you often get people in labcoats carrying samples in quartz tubes over a zebra crossing.

    • @SerPodrick
      @SerPodrick Před rokem +237

      That's a lot of work to take a image of a dog

    • @maddog2314
      @maddog2314 Před rokem +38

      Ahh I was wondering. I learned about PET imaging in orgo 2 and the prof told us it had to be synthesized and transported quickly. Of course not every hospital is gonna do it the same! It is cool that they have their own cyclotrons though.

    • @TheBanana93
      @TheBanana93 Před rokem +3

      @@hammerth1421 I love it.

    • @luddington6800
      @luddington6800 Před rokem +30

      I know right? Just move the dog in a shielded ammo box on a dolly to the imaging facility and take the picture there

  • @Valhallosaur
    @Valhallosaur Před rokem +6163

    Surely the "Rabbit Line" moniker comes from being something relatively small and quick moving through a tunnel underground?

    • @adrianbik3366
      @adrianbik3366 Před rokem +306

      And maybe also the fact that it's related to medical tests

    • @JustMe-dc6ks
      @JustMe-dc6ks Před rokem +383

      And or a corruption of rapid.

    • @Vydra-
      @Vydra- Před rokem +163

      Or how the rabbit “hops” from one place to another quickly

    • @MrPlusses
      @MrPlusses Před rokem +150

      Or a researcher named it to honour her favorite toy?

    • @Nastyswimmer
      @Nastyswimmer Před rokem +118

      and "Rat Run" probably wouldn't be so appealing

  • @frostykyogre
    @frostykyogre Před rokem +667

    As an engineering student at UBC I was able to tour TRIUMF with a student group. Unfortunately it seems the public tours have been halted since 2020 but it was superb when I went. We were able to go into a Faraday caged room with the high voltage systems for the beam and were able to see the various experiment targets the main beam gets directed to (obviously everything was shut off but even then you can't see the cyclotron itself as it is covered by metres of concrete blocks). Great experience and I encouage anyone interested to go if they start up the tours again.

    • @forivall
      @forivall Před rokem +4

      Cool! When I was a hockey-playing child, I remember always seeing that TRIUMF sign whenever we drove to the UBC rinks for a game or practice, but I only later learned what they did and always wished I could check it out, but I figured it was a very secretive kind of facility. I guess I maybe could check it out sometime! (I went to SFU 😅)

    • @ratguy101
      @ratguy101 Před rokem +10

      I had a chance to tour TRIUMF when I was a high school student. Sadly, I decided to give my friend a piggyback ride while there and ended up breaking my arm.

    • @donwald3436
      @donwald3436 Před rokem +1

      Aww, I feel like I got ripped off when I took the tour. We watched a cloud chamber make trails. I don't remember much else.

    • @MikesTropicalTech
      @MikesTropicalTech Před rokem

      @@ratguy101 Did you pick up any superhero abilities a la Spiderman? :^)

  • @noahford9605
    @noahford9605 Před rokem +368

    I go to school at UBC and I'd never heard of this before. Thank you Tom for educating millions around the world. You are a treasure.

    • @aris9392
      @aris9392 Před rokem +9

      Yea it’s actually really cool to see that he came all the way to van

    • @ryan_alexander
      @ryan_alexander Před rokem +1

      @@aris9392 fr tho I love learning things about van that I never knew before

  • @chris_cookies
    @chris_cookies Před rokem +194

    one of my favorite video titles to date

  • @MakeItWithCalvin
    @MakeItWithCalvin Před rokem +1248

    I have had a digestion test with I believe radioactive sulfur in an egg once. That was fun when your food comes with a radioactive sticker on it. That being said the ability to track stuff via radioactive tracers is incredible.

    • @ed_j_webb
      @ed_j_webb Před rokem +102

      I misread that as "...the ability to track staff..." and wondered what kind of Orwellian company you were running.

    • @officialtripleb2013
      @officialtripleb2013 Před rokem +5

      Where do you live? Don't they use barium?

    • @SeanBZA
      @SeanBZA Před rokem +79

      @@officialtripleb2013 If they are investigating the transport through the digestive tract into the liver you need radioactive amino acids, that will be transported there through the blood. Thus the making of short lived sulphur, that is incorporated into amino acids, and then blended into an egg white as transport and dilutant method. Barium just improves X ray contrast in the CT scanner and regular X ray, for MRI they might give you other contrast agents intravenously, though you are guaranteed to have a sour taste for days afterwards.

    • @AJ_UK_LIVE
      @AJ_UK_LIVE Před rokem +65

      Also fun when you have to use the special toilet afterwards that has that same sticker on the door and no one else is allowed to use it.

    • @MakeItWithCalvin
      @MakeItWithCalvin Před rokem +11

      @@SeanBZA oh gosh do not remind me of the time I had to drink barium... Nope not going there!

  • @Indium111
    @Indium111 Před rokem +170

    I know I was super excited to see Tom at my workplace. Secretly hoping to find myself in the background of this video, but guess I didn't make the cut! Looking forward to the next video and hope you guys got to enjoy a bit of Vancouver while you were here.

    • @sarahprunierlaw9147
      @sarahprunierlaw9147 Před rokem +8

      did you see him filming?

    • @Indium111
      @Indium111 Před rokem +45

      @@sarahprunierlaw9147 yes...both inside and outside. Just Tom and one cameraman. I kept thinking, "dang, that guy looks so familiar!".

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 Před rokem +34

      If you see Tom at your workplace, that's an official sign that you have one of the coolest workplaces in the world.

    • @strawdog336
      @strawdog336 Před rokem +3

      @@Indium111 when was it? Obviously before the snow, but after the finished the running track resurfacing. My kid would have loved to see Tom Scott in real life, too bad we missed that opportunity.

    • @Indium111
      @Indium111 Před rokem +10

      @@strawdog336 He was at my work site on the 24th of Nov. I was wondering how long it would be before the video was on CZcams

  • @JamesCalbraith
    @JamesCalbraith Před rokem +147

    Most hospitals I've been to have their own cyclotrones and accelerators. It's always fun to stumble on a heavy metal door plastered with 'radioactive' and 'access forbidden' sign somewhere in the bowels of a medical facility :)

    • @quillmaurer6563
      @quillmaurer6563 Před rokem +29

      I was thinking this - probably in most cases it's in the same building, making this system unnecessary. This example is probably unusual in that both are research facilities, and were probably built at different times. Perhaps when both were built they weren't related to one another, before radiological research was being done at the hospital, but using existing nuclear research facilities on the far side of campus and building this Rabbit Line was more practical than adding such equipment to the hospital.

    • @horuswasright
      @horuswasright Před rokem +4

      Those are tiny compared to the one at UBC, it used to be the largest in the world, and there's a spin off company called Advanced Cyclotron Systems that make small ones for hospitals and research.

  • @BromTeque
    @BromTeque Před rokem +33

    As someone who’s hard of hearing and a non-native speaker. Thank you for subtitles!

  • @cybergeek11235
    @cybergeek11235 Před rokem +60

    That overlay was *really* slick - well done!

  • @schafer6811
    @schafer6811 Před rokem +144

    I worked for a company that shares a lot of "cyclotron genealogy" with the TRIUMF cyclotron, and produced some of the equipment used with that cyclotron (though that was mostly before my time). The company later went on to design and build much smaller, self-shielded cyclotrons that could be installed on site in a hospital, literally next door to the room containing the scanner, where the isotopes generated by the cyclotron were used. Because they were so close to the point of use, these smaller cyclotrons could produce isotopes that wouldn't withstand even a quick trip through a pneumatic line. The shortest-lived isotope we used was O-15, with a half-life of only two minutes. Not a lot of leeway there.

    • @KevintheRhea
      @KevintheRhea Před rokem +1

      That's very cool. What's your job?

    • @schafer6811
      @schafer6811 Před rokem +25

      @@KevintheRhea (Past tense; it was quite a while ago) I designed control systems and other electronics, as well as did some physics modeling. The most challenging thing I ever designed was a 600 W current source for a load that had a very high differential negative resistance. The load behaved fairly linearly at low current, up to about 100 mA at 1500 V, then the resistance dropped precipitously until it was pulling 3 A at 200 V. Getting stable current control under those conditions (without wasting a few kW) was very, very difficult. One day, I was testing a version of the circuit and one of the power transistors exploded and shot a blob of molten metal that bounced off my shirt and landed on my shoe, melting a hole into the synthetic fabric. I kept the shoe as a souvenir for a while.

    • @empoleonmaster6709
      @empoleonmaster6709 Před rokem +1

      @@schafer6811 The fact that you kept the shoe as a souvenir is such an awesome response to it.

    • @jaymzx0
      @jaymzx0 Před rokem +3

      Years ago when my father would visit University of Washington Medical Center for some radiation therapy, I noticed they had a room with a gigantic rotary door that had to be six feet thick. Turns out, they have their own 50MeV cyclotron and they use it to generate neutrons for special neck cancer therapy (Fast Neutron Therapy), and are the only hospital in the world to have such a thing. I wanted to see it but they didn't give tours, I guess.

  • @StevenLeung101
    @StevenLeung101 Před rokem +76

    I went to visit TRIUMF as a kid. Tom is correct that students don't know about the tube hahaha. I certainly didn't when I attended UBC years later.
    Thank you Tom for sharing this!

  • @draghettis6524
    @draghettis6524 Před rokem +903

    Compressed air-propelled systems like this one, even if it is on a small scale, are very interesting.
    This technology used to be more widely used, if I'm not mistaken certain big cities used to have an air-propelled postal distribution network, a century ago.

    • @galenkehler
      @galenkehler Před rokem +85

      And Futurama has it 1000 years in the future :)

    • @jimurrata6785
      @jimurrata6785 Před rokem +44

      There was a Hyperloop style pneumatic subway demonstrator in Manhattan during the 1870's
      Perhaps Tom has already done an episode (or should!)

    • @666Tomato666
      @666Tomato666 Před rokem +38

      The Tesco near me has a pneumatic system for sending daily reports from cash registers.

    • @dwsparks1
      @dwsparks1 Před rokem +21

      Roosevelt Island in NYC has a pneumatic trash system!

    • @StormhavenGaming
      @StormhavenGaming Před rokem +27

      London had a couple of goes at getting a pneumatic railway up and running. There was one that ran from Euston Station in the 1860s or 70s, but only for a few years. It was too difficult to maintain, for one thing. Keeping an airtight seal was nearly impossible for anything more than a short period.

  • @Erik_The_Viking
    @Erik_The_Viking Před rokem +145

    Similar to pressure systems used by banks, just a lot longer and carries radioactive material. Really cool and also very practical considering the short half-life of the material and safer.

    • @rossstewart9475
      @rossstewart9475 Před rokem +11

      Those systems are themselves a relic of a bygone era: Pneumatic transport tubes used to be incredibly common, passing stock prices between markets and telegraph stations, enabling sales of perishable commodities, helping sort mail and in some cases running near city-wide postal networks. There were even a few rare examples that carried *people*.
      They were mostly abandoned around the time of the second world war, when automobiles became relatively cheap and convenient: Such systems are not cheap to run!

    • @rikwisselink-bijker
      @rikwisselink-bijker Před rokem +3

      Systems like that are still fairly common in hospitals, although you're only supposed to use them for specific things. Hospitals can be big places, so getting stuff somewhere quickly is sometimes best achieved with a vacuum tube system.

    • @High.on.Life_DnB
      @High.on.Life_DnB Před rokem

      @@rossstewart9475 I know banks still use these kind of systems, why and for what I don't know, but I know when I was working at renovating a bank a few years ago I saw the tube system in the ceiling.

    • @stephen1r2
      @stephen1r2 Před rokem +4

      @@High.on.Life_DnB For the money of course, do you want carts of cash running down the halls? Some of it might disappear mysteriously

  • @CyreneDuVent
    @CyreneDuVent Před rokem +66

    I love the practical applications of pneumatic tubes. This magical 1950s way of the future, being used every day without us even noticing. The hospital in my home town had pneumatic tubes that went from the bloodwork room to the labs - they'd draw your blood, pop in it and it was gone.

    • @DarkSkay
      @DarkSkay Před rokem +4

      Fifty thousand years ago somebody shot at a rabbit with a blowgun. Today there's the rabbit line and the particle accelerator.

  • @alexperman7748
    @alexperman7748 Před rokem +31

    Another interesting fact regarding stuff under city streets at UBC: I believe most if not all the buildings on campus utilize a central heating source that produces superheated steam and transports it underground (there is a main feed and return line under Main Mall) to avoid electrical heating methods. It is a closed loop system and all the steam is recycled.

    • @MarkRose1337
      @MarkRose1337 Před rokem +7

      District steam heating is very common in a lot of cities and campuses.

  • @ALMX5DP
    @ALMX5DP Před rokem +309

    Reminds me of the lines Costco used to use to send checks and such back from their cashier stands. Wonder if there’s ever been any issues with this and how they attempt to resolve them.

    • @nathansavage8692
      @nathansavage8692 Před rokem +13

      People in the US still regularly use cheques? A register would have rejected them 20 years ago here

    • @ALMX5DP
      @ALMX5DP Před rokem +59

      @@nathansavage8692 “used to use”

    • @southaussiegarbo2054
      @southaussiegarbo2054 Před rokem +6

      They now used to send cash around 😂

    • @mikeybhoutex
      @mikeybhoutex Před rokem +40

      @@nathansavage8692 It's not as frequent, but there's this 'old school' set of people called 'old people' who will NOT have their right to using a check be taken from them. Source: IT support at a car dealership working on the cashier stuff for service and you would be damned to hell for not taking that check. Worse than arguing politics here, not even kidding.
      It's dying a slow, agonizing death. :p

    • @Megabean
      @Megabean Před rokem +8

      @@nathansavage8692 I still get paid by them. idk why

  • @DogsWithPurpose
    @DogsWithPurpose Před rokem +10

    Tom Scott gathering information for his villain arc:

  • @andermite3996
    @andermite3996 Před rokem +15

    As a UBC student and a long-time viewer, this was an awesome crossover I did not expect!!

  • @kyle0280
    @kyle0280 Před rokem +28

    My teacher used to work at Triumf, he has great stories about the massive lifting crane there and how repairs get done.

  • @rachelle10
    @rachelle10 Před rokem +116

    It's really incredible to see this collaboration between different departments of the university

    • @janisila8240
      @janisila8240 Před rokem +22

      and different universities! TRIUMF is jointly operated by several universities across Canada, Dr. Yang for example is actually from Simon Fraser University, not UBC.

    • @RFC-3514
      @RFC-3514 Před rokem +5

      I see you're familiar with the typical inner workings of academia. :D

    • @rachelle10
      @rachelle10 Před rokem

      @@janisila8240 Wow that's cool!

    • @corbeaudejugement
      @corbeaudejugement Před rokem

      @@janisila8240 it's always nice to see different unis working together. it's so rare

  • @ideatorx
    @ideatorx Před rokem +3

    When Tom Scott appears literally 5 min from your house in your neighborhood!? What an honor, also didn't know I've been driving over antimatter all these years!!

  • @thomasrad5202
    @thomasrad5202 Před rokem +89

    I did a co-op here in the summer of 2017 and my supervisor was none other than Ken Buckley (the one who made the rabbit line!)
    Lovely video, Tom. I just sent this to a former co-worker and they told me they forwarded it to Ken.
    Thanks for everything you do!

  • @ChrisMuncy
    @ChrisMuncy Před rokem +159

    Tom, always love the videos, but this one has to be towards the tops. Fascinating that they have this relationship to essentially get isotopes on-demand where they are needed.

  • @kareemhassib
    @kareemhassib Před rokem +32

    Hey, that’s my university! I live on campus aswell so this was extra fascinating. Hope you enjoyed your time in Vancouver!

  • @djsomeguy
    @djsomeguy Před rokem +22

    Loving this trip through Canada...this country has so much awesome stuff going on!

  • @abigchair
    @abigchair Před rokem +17

    I think it's absolutely great when you get to have the scientists, researchers, experts explain things directly. Great work Tom! Love it.

  • @SoniasWay
    @SoniasWay Před rokem +139

    I’m always amazed by how brilliant his videos are

    • @Willam_J
      @Willam_J Před rokem +3

      I agree!!! He always finds the most obscure, but still interesting, places, things and people. No one else covers this stuff. That’s what sets him apart. 😃👍

  • @christopheraplin
    @christopheraplin Před rokem +24

    How do you do this Tom? How do you continue to put out unique and fascinating things every week and after so long? I'm going to miss these when you're done but you have never dropped in quality and that's truly special.
    Another great quality is that you always work with people who can explain things so well so quickly. Thank you to Dr. Sossi and Dr. Yang.

  • @DaisyZhangAI
    @DaisyZhangAI Před rokem +28

    I worked at TRIUMF for a year and was told about this rabbit line, it was such a bizarre thing to mention that I didn't know if it was actually real -- now it makes sense. Thanks for the video, Tom!

  • @rxpt0rs
    @rxpt0rs Před rokem +10

    Glad to see that TRIUMF and Vancouver is getting some love from Tom! Hope he covers more exciting locations in the city!

  • @DenisRyan
    @DenisRyan Před rokem +70

    Hope you had a nice time here in Vancouver! I have a friend that works in Triumph. When the accelerator is running, he can stand paperclips end to end on top of each other, creating a tiny, free standing ladder!

    • @MarkRose1337
      @MarkRose1337 Před rokem +5

      If you visit an aluminium smelter, you can stand a couple dozen end to end. The magnetic fields are intense.

  • @AnastasiaCooper
    @AnastasiaCooper Před rokem +41

    I just *love* the topics - especially for the last few weeks, for no reason I can give, I'm just really fascinated. Maybe because they are so varried! Keep it up Tom!

  • @pacificostudios
    @pacificostudios Před rokem +4

    That's amazing. I remember when pneumatic tubes were seen much more often. My bank's drive in used a much larger and slower pneumatic tube. At the State of Minnesota, they had a pneumatic tube system to shoot mail around the state capitol area. The "leak air out at destination" is a really simple solution to an important engineering issue.

  • @gregwood3380
    @gregwood3380 Před rokem +1

    Tom, just to let you know, I love all your videos. They are brief, concise, and informative. Thanks for the time you spend making them.

  • @Zeropointill
    @Zeropointill Před rokem +17

    Loving all these Canadian themed videos. Hope you're enjoying your tour of the place.

    • @VosperCDN
      @VosperCDN Před rokem +4

      Learning a lot about my own country from Tom's videos. These have been great for showcasing all sorts of stuff across the country.

  • @yesterdaydream
    @yesterdaydream Před rokem +7

    So strange that most of the staff/students wouldn't know about this FASCINATING stuff beneath them! If I saw a lil metal thing on the ground that said Rabbit Line I'd immediately look it up...but I also just tried a few keywords and besides Tom Scott-related sites, I saw VERY few relevant results. Love y'all's commitment to obscurities.

    • @strawdog336
      @strawdog336 Před rokem +1

      I've been employed nearby for 10 years and have never seen those plates on the ground. I will start looking for them though.

    • @yesterdaydream
      @yesterdaydream Před rokem

      @@strawdog336 Good luck on your search!

  • @thomaskidd7487
    @thomaskidd7487 Před rokem +2

    Thanks for getting this in Tom: the Rabbit Line is a really cool solution to a tricky problem. Hopefully it helps inspire others! I hope you had an amazing time in Vancouver too!

  • @dilapidatedcorvid3027
    @dilapidatedcorvid3027 Před rokem +2

    I watched this video this morning on the bus right as I passed by TRIUMF on my way to work at the hospital. Six years here and there's always new hidden things to learn, thanks for helping uncovering a gem under my feet

  • @jmcbresilfr
    @jmcbresilfr Před rokem +4

    I remember hearing about the rabbit line when I visited TRIUMF a few months ago, great subject choice! I am loving your Canadian trip videos.

  • @jaybodzin107
    @jaybodzin107 Před rokem +10

    I used to work as an operator at a nuclear research reactor (at Reed College; I think Tom has already made a video about it) that had a similar device, for removing experimental samples with short half-lives at high speed - though its path was much shorter, only across a few rooms. I think it was called the 'rabbit' just because it moved very fast.

  • @jools1978
    @jools1978 Před rokem +4

    Wow! It's fun to see a title, think "Was Tom at UBC? I bet this is UBC.", and see the building where I used to work. I never dealt with any of the radioisotopes, but I definitely knew the line came into the building thanks to the disruption from construction when they were rerouting it from the older part of the hospital.

  • @joshb_1111
    @joshb_1111 Před rokem

    Interesting as always - I'm always excited to watch a new Tom Scott video and learn something fascinating.

  • @faranahmad
    @faranahmad Před rokem +18

    Learnt about this in school as well! Very fascinating!

  • @TRGavin
    @TRGavin Před rokem +4

    wha why is this in a crazyscoutfin playlist wait what

  • @brickboy525251
    @brickboy525251 Před rokem

    Tom you continue to impress me with the places and things you do! Can't wait to see what you have planned.

  • @davidgriffiths2223
    @davidgriffiths2223 Před rokem +1

    Been living here for decades and never knew about this! Thanks for the great video as always!

  • @ebensirges
    @ebensirges Před rokem +5

    You are absolutely correct, I had no idea any of this existed-I knew that there was a 'TRIUMF' at the south end of campus, but no clue what it was for, and _definitely_ didn't expect us to have our own particle accelerator! :O
    Hope you enjoyed your trip to UBC!

    • @nonenowherebye
      @nonenowherebye Před rokem +3

      It actually was/is one of the largest/most powerful non-superconducting cyclotrons in the world. Their logo is actually the shape of the magnets, which are shaped that way to simplify the acceleration of the particles as they get towards the outer ring.

  • @xxxthestuffxxx
    @xxxthestuffxxx Před rokem +8

    Lots of sciencey tech explanations about protons and isotopes, and then in the middle 'our chemists do their magic'.
    Guess which bit I can get my brain around. Yep, magic it is.

  • @squidgepus
    @squidgepus Před rokem +1

    Thank you for teaching me something about my own local city that I never knew about. Hope you had fun in Vancouver.

  • @taliesinriver
    @taliesinriver Před rokem +2

    So glad you're covering this! I live near Vancouver and TRIUMF is one of the coolest places I've ever been.

  • @lahavmorris9919
    @lahavmorris9919 Před rokem +4

    Another briliant vid from tom

  • @JamesLewis98
    @JamesLewis98 Před rokem +9

    I'd wager to guess that it's called a "rabbit" because in greyhound racing a decoy rabbit is accelerated along a rail down the track for the dogs to chase.

    • @Cineenvenordquist
      @Cineenvenordquist Před rokem +1

      All you need now is a lab of radionuclei scientists who like 100 km/h underground racing. It goes together. Just go to pyramid head labs and go left, pass Slenderman Ind. and you're there.

  • @unl0ck998
    @unl0ck998 Před rokem +2

    Words can't express the compounded amazingness the whole process is. Inspirational.

  • @NaClO
    @NaClO Před rokem

    Thank you so much for touching on this topic!!! i heard about this years ago since living in vancouver and have always wanted someone to shed light on this

  • @SageSkaaning
    @SageSkaaning Před rokem +4

    Awesome video! I hope you enjoyed your time here in BC!

  • @fsodn
    @fsodn Před rokem +3

    This is awesome!
    As an undergraduate in the summer of 1994, I was hired as a research assistant. Near the end of that summer, we helped run an experiment at TRIUMF, back when it was a physics research accelerator. I spent many hours in that giant room with the yellow blocks as we were buttoning up the experiment, and then another week in the counting room on the upper floor as the experiment ran.
    It's so cool that it's been re-purposed as a medical research accelerator. I love it!
    Thanks for the blast from the past, Tom!

    • @conorcomiconor5965
      @conorcomiconor5965 Před rokem +1

      It's still used for lots of physics research as well, it just also services the medical research too.

    • @gary27182
      @gary27182 Před rokem

      Ah, maybe you could answer the question I had watching the video... if it's producing a proton beam, why does it start out with hydrogen anions? I get that the cyclotron needs charged particles, but not why H- is used for part of the process and then stripped (how?) of electrons.

    • @purpur9327
      @purpur9327 Před rokem +1

      @@gary27182 The two electrons are stripped off the H- via carbon foils - the much heavier protons pass through. They are used to extract multiple proton beams at once (instead of just one), with the additional benefit of being able to set the energy of each beam by (radially) moving the foils.

  • @MontySaurusRex_
    @MontySaurusRex_ Před rokem +1

    This is one of the coolest pieces of engineering ive seen. They had an issue, the engineer just went to work. Spectacular.

  • @theRealRindberg
    @theRealRindberg Před rokem

    This is one of the most interesting and diverse channels on CZcams! Thanks!

  • @ajaynagpal5975
    @ajaynagpal5975 Před rokem +5

    Noooo! why was this video only 5 minutes? I could watch such great stuff orated by Tom for hours

  • @TRIPPLEJAY00
    @TRIPPLEJAY00 Před rokem +3

    This is fascinating. Well done to everyone who works in medical research.

  • @kartikkishore9707
    @kartikkishore9707 Před rokem

    Man....I just love these shots, and especially the initial scene where you are walking towards the camera,

  • @BigCrowsVideos
    @BigCrowsVideos Před 7 měsíci +1

    The last giggle was priceless

  • @rhettorical
    @rhettorical Před rokem +7

    They use systems like this at pharmacies and banks to send stuff from inside to a drive-up location. The Wal-Mart pharmacy near me has a pickup station at the far end of the parking lot from the store itself to make it more convenient for people picking up their medication to avoid parking lot traffic. The capsules are much bigger though and I don't know how fast they travel.

  • @TchSktch
    @TchSktch Před rokem +3

    No way you were in BC, that's awesome. Think I would act up if I saw Tom Scott filming across the street from me

  • @PS3GamingScotland
    @PS3GamingScotland Před rokem +1

    I love learning new things. Thanks Tom! :)

  • @NeatNit
    @NeatNit Před rokem +3

    My mom works at a hospital (Ichilov, in Tel Aviv) as a lab worker, they receive samples to test via a hospital-wide pneumatic tubes system, it's so cool. Just much faster and more efficient than having a delivery boy making back and forth trips all the time from the nurses to the lab, or worse, the nurses having to bring over samples by themselves, wasting their valuable time.
    I'm not sure if this is common practice at hospitals worldwide or if this one is unique!

  • @DaDuck444
    @DaDuck444 Před rokem +1

    Hey Tom, I'm a Cyclotron Engineer for the Cleveland Clinic and I loved this video! I work on a much less powerful Cyclotron (11 MeV) used to make traces for a number of hospitals in NE Ohio. So cool to see what I do on such a large scale and to recognize a lot of the same equipment in my own lab. For anyone more curious in how Cyclotrons work we inject hydrogen into the cyclotron's ion source which adds an electron to the hydrogen particles giving them a negative charge. The electron beam then circles around a tank under very high vacuum where it is controlled by magnets and RF. Eventually the electron beam hits an extractor made out of carbon that strips off the electrons, changing the polarity of the beam from negative to positive (proton beam). The change in polarity allows the magnet to fire the beam into a target of pressured 018 water which after being bombarded turns into the radioisotope F18 used by the chemists and pharmacists to make a number of different traces.

  • @ClintonHines
    @ClintonHines Před rokem

    This is just amazing! Thank you showing us this!

  • @SemiHypercube
    @SemiHypercube Před rokem +3

    That's such a cool way to transport something between places

  • @smoothshot9562
    @smoothshot9562 Před rokem +12

    Just in time for my tea, big fan off your work mate

  • @darkusaurelius2853
    @darkusaurelius2853 Před rokem

    Great video Tom, thank-you.

  • @MisterSynonym
    @MisterSynonym Před rokem

    Another top notch video Tom. :)

  • @soaringvulture
    @soaringvulture Před rokem +3

    What I found weird was the metal disc, with a line on it, inscribed "rabbit line". An innocent observer might think that it was some sort of barrier for rabbits. Very obedient rabbits.

    • @Cineenvenordquist
      @Cineenvenordquist Před rokem +1

      Leaving piles of stuffed rabbits leaned up to the line and on upward is an exercise left to the reader and attendee of ComiCon BC x radiomedicine.

  • @coolalexg14
    @coolalexg14 Před rokem +6

    As someone who works at a Reactor that makes stuff like this, can confirm they are called Rabbits. The lead containers are called pigs, hence we call the Reactor "The Farm". It's called Rabbit because it is very quick and nimble, just saying. Pigs because they are heavy and thick, kinda like a pig.

  • @lordrhesus
    @lordrhesus Před rokem

    Glad to see you're Van! hope you had a great time :D

  • @NickScrivener
    @NickScrivener Před rokem

    I love your videos Scott, the material you cover is different and interesting. Well it is to me!

  • @henryginn7490
    @henryginn7490 Před rokem +3

    Learning how a PET scanner works was in my physics A level spec, there is a whole chapter on medical imaging. How it works is really interesting, one of the best parts of the A level

    • @aminuh
      @aminuh Před rokem

      Haha, I'm picking my A level subjects rn and this has somewhat persuaded me to do it because I'm so conflicted with my subjects

  • @KillerSpud
    @KillerSpud Před rokem +3

    I've heard the term 'rabbit' used at other radioactive research facilities, usually to move a sample into a reactor and out again quickly.

    • @Cineenvenordquist
      @Cineenvenordquist Před rokem

      If there are sidereactions, it's a cow instead of a rabbit.

  • @Dr.Geeves
    @Dr.Geeves Před rokem +1

    I knew about radioactive material being used for medication, as I live near one such facility that makes them (Petten, Netherlands). But I did not know about this use.
    These kind of videos are exactly why I watch your material, thanks Tom.

  • @starchington
    @starchington Před rokem +1

    Great drone and animation shot. Such a great visualization.

  • @cholten99
    @cholten99 Před rokem +8

    Great video. Would be really interesting to know if they laid the tubes at the same time as digging up the road for something else or whether it was an expensive separate job. I'm also curious as to whether the particle lab does anything else and, if not, why it's so far away? If it was built later how come that's not the same for hospitals elsewhere doing the same thing?

    • @Bacopa68
      @Bacopa68 Před rokem +4

      Laying a pipe of that size can be done with very little disruption using a "gopher" or a "missile" if there's not much in the way.

  • @remus907
    @remus907 Před rokem +4

    Based on the fact that your videos are always in different countries im certain that the capsule at 3:22 is the same you sent earlier, and that you can teleport.

  • @greg2092
    @greg2092 Před rokem

    Welcome back to Vancouver Tom!
    Hope you enjoy(probably enjoyed by the time this is live) your stay

  • @mbarker
    @mbarker Před rokem

    Wow... something I didn't know in my own backyard!
    Hope you enjoyed your visit to Vancouver. Love the videos!

  • @Geeksmithing
    @Geeksmithing Před rokem +6

    I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I’ve been to Chernobyl.
    Nine times.

  • @kuunib7325
    @kuunib7325 Před rokem +11

    This is very interesting. I once checked out the SLS Cyclotron that 2.4GeV (around 5 times bigger) than this one. It is used for an electron beam that produces Synchrotron radiation. Almost forgot to mention the SLS is at the Paul Schärer Institue in Switzerland where they invented radiation therapy for cancer and are currently developing a new kind of X-Ray machine for the diagnosis of breast cancer.

    • @pauldavis2108
      @pauldavis2108 Před rokem +1

      The SLS does not have a 2.4GeV cyclotron. They have a 2.4GeV synchrotron. Their ring cyclotron is 590MeV and while pysically smaller is both higher energy and insensity that of TRIUMF's

  • @antikathy
    @antikathy Před rokem

    I'm so glad you have done a few in Canada! I love to learn curious things about my country.

  • @AdamHolland-Adz
    @AdamHolland-Adz Před rokem

    Another great video covering and obscure and interesting topic! After Tom requested people to send in ideas for next year, I found something really cool in another country that I hope he will one day cover.

  • @maartenkeus8627
    @maartenkeus8627 Před rokem +5

    0:18 you're the stud Tom ;)

  • @IVANxVx
    @IVANxVx Před rokem +3

    Imagine going in for a MRI and in the middle of it all the lab technicians and medics stand up and holler because the GE logo in the MRI machine hit the corner of the screen.

    • @epicredhead13
      @epicredhead13 Před rokem

      I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that.

  • @siberx4
    @siberx4 Před rokem +1

    I knew about this facility but had no idea there was an express pneumatic tube delivery system attached to it! Very cool, thanks for shining some light on this obscure bit of the campus.

  • @AndromedaCripps
    @AndromedaCripps Před rokem +1

    Tom your story telling is really good!! You take stories I would never read on my own and make them exciting and novel. And the way you ended this one was so clever and left me laughing 😂😂 all that technology to get it down the road, just for them to have to physically go pick them up after 😂😂

  • @jake9705
    @jake9705 Před rokem +3

    4:57 --
    1) I'm assuming it's called "the rabbit line" because it is super fast, like a running rabbit?
    2) the empty capsules being returned: how radioactive are they becoming with repeated re-use?

  • @adiac42
    @adiac42 Před rokem +3

    0:46 Looks exactly like a Portal test chamber.