If one curie of iridium-192 produces a dose rate of 5900 mR per hour at one foot, how many mR will ten curies produce at the same distance?

The calculation involving the dose rate of iridium-192 is based on the principle that the dose rate is directly proportional to the amount of radioactive material present. If one curie produces a dose rate of 5900 mR per hour at a distance of one foot, then the total dose rate from ten curies can be determined by multiplying the dose rate from one curie by the total number of curies.

In this scenario, when you have ten curies, you simply multiply the dose rate of 5900 mR by 10:

5900 mR/hour × 10 curies = 59,000 mR/hour.

This calculation illustrates how the radioactivity scales with the amount of material, making the corresponding dose rate increase tenfold as the quantity of radioactive source increases.

Therefore, the answer demonstrates the understanding of how dose rates are affected by changes in the quantity of radioactive isotopes, leading to a total of 59,000 mR at the same distance with ten curies of iridium-192.