In article ,
(John S. Shinal) wrote:

(Eric Moore) wrote:

This article goes into more detail on the topic:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994049

Hmm. Not as crackpot as I first assumed.

I have to wonder how you keep this stuff from spontaneously
releasing the energy. There could easily be a cascade effect if a few
atoms release in a half-life style decay sequence.

It does spontaneously release it's energy. That's what half-life is all about.
But it releases gamma rays, not particles, so there is no direct
comparison with a fission-type chain reaction.

--
Harry Andreas
Engineering raconteur