Do it yourself cloud chamber.

[Locut0s]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chxv5G6UFl0

Although I'm not sure you can order the radioactive source in this day and age.

 

[Rubycon]

A 1 microcurie Americium-241 source recovered from a discarded smoke alarm chamber should be "hot" enough to reveal traces in a homemade chamber. Uraninite crystals definitely are quite hot (and much more dangerous as they are also high emitters of gamma!), radium needles (just kidding - these are quite dangerous and as a matter of fact if not heavily shielded will trigger radiation detectors as you travel in many American cities!) There are many minerals having traces of radium. Old GITD watch/clock hands are quite hot as well. With handling ANY of these sources caution is advised.

Alpha itself is not particularly dangerous as it is basically stopped by a few inches of air, a sheet of paper or even your skin. But in the event that dust/small pieces of this material get in your lungs you will regret it.

 

[Locut0s]

I think I love you Rubycon. :wub:

 

[mmntech]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chxv5G6UFl0

Although I'm not sure you can order the radioactive source in this day and age.

Libyans?

 

[DrPizza]

Don't forget the magnetic field so you can watch the trails curve!

 

[coxmaster]

Alpha itself is not particularly dangerous as it is basically stopped by a few inches of air, a sheet of paper or even your skin.

We did a lab on this last week, really cool to see!

 

[Rubycon]

I think I love you Rubycon. :wub:

Careful! Playing with radioactive material will make you "hot" but you don't want that kind of hotness.


This is probably the hottest source you can find without getting into trouble. Those discs are rare and while their zinc sulfide scintillating agent is depleted, the radium is still scorching hot! These are not something for the novice "radionuclear hobbyist" to be handling or owning, that's for sure!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfz80F912uY&

 

[Born2bwire]

Got a tritium dial watch? They have gone out of favor in the last 20 years but my Speedmaster Pro still has a tritium dial (1997, admittedly the last year they used tritium). You'll have to remove the glass which otherwise stops the radiation. The half life is something like 12 years so even a 20 year old watch will have some spunk to it even though it's not enough for the lume.

Who is it that is still using tritium though? I seem to recall that it was Ball that used tritium gas tubes. I guess the tubes will stop the radiation but it allows for a very bright lume. Still, I'd be worried about the half life because the prices of the watch means that it is one that you want for a lifetime.

 

[Rubycon]

Got a tritium dial watch? They have gone out of favor in the last 20 years but my Speedmaster Pro still has a tritium dial (1997, admittedly the last year they used tritium). You'll have to remove the glass which otherwise stops the radiation. The half life is something like 12 years so even a 20 year old watch will have some spunk to it even though it's not enough for the lume.

Who is it that is still using tritium though? I seem to recall that it was Ball that used tritium gas tubes. I guess the tubes will stop the radiation but it allows for a very bright lume. Still, I'd be worried about the half life because the prices of the watch means that it is one that you want for a lifetime.

Trasers are essentially zero emission devices. The borosilicate tubes will stop the beta radiation. If a tube is broken the gas escapes and if you to inhale it you may receive a very low amount of radiation but it's quite low.

The devices can be made to last 20+ years and the ratings are based on how much gas the tubes are filled with. Self luminous exit signs are one application.

Wristwatches under several names use traser illumination. Luminox is a popular entry level watch. Ball also uses them. Another popular application is the military style lensatic compass. Military illuminators (torches) also use a disk shaped capsule containing as much as twenty five curies of tritium. These are regulated devices depending on the laws of your country, etc.

Tritiated aerogels are probably the brightest betaluminescent material. Modules based on these are assembled using the highest efficiency photovoltaic cells available and the phosphors used are optimized to the PV cells to produce the highest output. It's possible to keep a low powered electronic device running for years with one of these and the typical hazards associated with radiothermonuclear generating (RTG) devices are totally non existent.

 

[Born2bwire]

Oh hey! I just remembered, what about getting some Fiestaware? The bright red used uranium oxide paints. I remember putting the plates under the geiger counter. Boy, did the needle jump on them. Don't know if these sources would be strong enough for a cloud chamber. I think Rubycon's suggestion to use the Americuniumism-whatever (too lazy to look it up) from a smoke detector is your best bet.

The mention of the self luminating exit signs reminds me that I seem to recall reading about how some students went around stealing the exit signs to get the tritium.

 

[Rubycon]

Oh hey! I just remembered, what about getting some Fiestaware? The bright red used uranium oxide paints. I remember putting the plates under the geiger counter. Boy, did the needle jump on them. Don't know if these sources would be strong enough for a cloud chamber. I think Rubycon's suggestion to use the Americuniumism-whatever (too lazy to look it up) from a smoke detector is your best bet.

The mention of the self luminating exit signs reminds me that I seem to recall reading about how some students went around stealing the exit signs to get the tritium.

Fiestaware is pretty hot but not a pure alpha emitter either. It's a toss up whether that will work or not. Staticmaster brush refills were pretty strong however old ones will be of little use since they use polonium with a very short half life. Thorium-232 doped lantern mantles are another source. It helps to have a GM counter to make sure you indeed are getting actual sources. A simple red glazed plate does not guarantee it has uranium in its glaze!

I cannot imagine kids wanting those for the tritium. A tube that glows day and night without ever needing to be "recharged"? Hell yes! They are very fragile though and it does not take much to break them. Then they don't glow any more.

 

[Born2bwire]

I can no longer remember the true substance of the rumor. It was either kids going around stealing them to get the lume or it was stupid politicians that thought that people could steal them to build up a radioactive source. Either way, much stupidity was involved.

 

[Rubycon]

I can no longer remember the true substance of the rumor. It was either kids going around stealing them to get the lume or it was stupid politicians that thought that people could steal them to build up a radioactive source. Either way, much stupidity was involved.

And when the sign was vandalized and broken the school was evacuated while hazmat crews "defouled" the area costing tens of thousands of dollars.

Even if you shoved a 10ci tube up your nose and broke it (the biggest hazard would be getting cut!), inhaled the contents entirely not much harm would be done. The gas is quickly eliminated from the body and all that trouble one would go through would not even result in glow in the dark pee!

However when people hear the word radiation or radioactive they get their panties in a wad. It's really ridiculous.

 

[rcpratt]

We did a lab on this last week, really cool to see!

What are you studying?