Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab
May 4, 2022 5:24 AM Subscribe
World’s Most Dangerous Toy? Radioactive Atomic Energy Lab Kit with Uranium (1950) “USERS SHOULD NOT TAKE ORE SAMPLES OUT OF THEIR JARS, for they tend to flake and crumble and you would run the risk of having radioactive ore spread out in your laboratory.” Such was the warning that came with the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab, a 1950s science kit that included four small jars of actual uranium. Yes, the Gilbert company definitely intended for kids to try this at home. And so the company’s warning was couched not in terms of health risk but rather as bad scientific practice: Removing the ore from its jar would raise the background radiation, thereby invalidating your experimental results."
To be fair, U-238 is the boring kind of Uranium. In a past life I was a member of a low-level radioactivity lab and I can endorse the advice to not spread your sample around and cross-contaminate all your equipment!
More seriously, this bit from the second link sounds more troubling:
When the Atomic Energy Lab hit the market in 1950, it was one of the most elaborate science kits available. In addition to uranium, it had beta-alpha, beta, and gamma radiation sources.
No idea what these sources could be, but would probably be much scarier than a bit of ore in a vial.
posted by each day we work at 5:44 AM on May 4, 2022 [6 favorites]
More seriously, this bit from the second link sounds more troubling:
When the Atomic Energy Lab hit the market in 1950, it was one of the most elaborate science kits available. In addition to uranium, it had beta-alpha, beta, and gamma radiation sources.
No idea what these sources could be, but would probably be much scarier than a bit of ore in a vial.
posted by each day we work at 5:44 AM on May 4, 2022 [6 favorites]
The set came with four types of uranium ore, a beta-alpha source (Pb-210), a pure beta source (Ru-106?), a gamma source (Zn-65), a spinthariscope, a cloud chamber with its own short-lived alpha source (Po-210)
posted by geoff. at 5:49 AM on May 4, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by geoff. at 5:49 AM on May 4, 2022 [6 favorites]
I would probably be more concerned with them selling short halflife isotopes that will soon stop being fun to play with than with the actual risk, but this is bullshit:
In comparison, the risk from the uranium-238 in Gilbert’s U-238 Atomic Energy Lab was minimal, about the equivalent to a day’s UV exposure from the sun.
Comparing these two qualitatively different risks is something you do only if you're trying to be dishonest.
posted by each day we work at 5:56 AM on May 4, 2022 [3 favorites]
In comparison, the risk from the uranium-238 in Gilbert’s U-238 Atomic Energy Lab was minimal, about the equivalent to a day’s UV exposure from the sun.
Comparing these two qualitatively different risks is something you do only if you're trying to be dishonest.
posted by each day we work at 5:56 AM on May 4, 2022 [3 favorites]
Uranium is chemically toxic, but isn't really harmful unless you eat it or breathe it in as dust. In a uranium mine, the real danger is radon gas.
posted by Bee'sWing at 6:47 AM on May 4, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Bee'sWing at 6:47 AM on May 4, 2022 [2 favorites]
My father was an amateur prospector and a mineral collector. He would give me a big hunk of uranium ore, along with a Geiger counter, to take into school for show-and-tell. It was fun to show how the needle on the Geiger counter would jump when you brought it close to the sample.
posted by Kabanos at 6:53 AM on May 4, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Kabanos at 6:53 AM on May 4, 2022 [5 favorites]
Uranium is chemically toxic, but isn't really harmful unless you eat it or breathe it in as dust. In a uranium mine, the real danger is radon gas.
Note that this is Uranium *ore*, not pure Uranium. It will also contain daughter products in whatever state of disequilibrium that are of more concern from a radiological point of view - both due to the Rn-222 that is a gas and will leave the ore and can be inhaled and also because many of them emit appreciable gamma rays, unlike U-238 itself. In an underground mine the Radon risk is also compounded by poor ventilation.
posted by each day we work at 7:11 AM on May 4, 2022
Note that this is Uranium *ore*, not pure Uranium. It will also contain daughter products in whatever state of disequilibrium that are of more concern from a radiological point of view - both due to the Rn-222 that is a gas and will leave the ore and can be inhaled and also because many of them emit appreciable gamma rays, unlike U-238 itself. In an underground mine the Radon risk is also compounded by poor ventilation.
posted by each day we work at 7:11 AM on May 4, 2022
Nthing that uranium isn't especially dangerous relative to other toxic chemicals. We used uranium salts in the first professional lab I worked at, as a reagent in a bog standard chemical test, and they weren't treated as radioactive for the purpose of regulation (though it definitely lit up a Geiger counter!) I'm not saying lab standards were good in my early career but that doesn't rate as a particularly egregious practice.
I was going to express 100% confidence things have changed now but to my surprise you can still by uranium ore license-free.
Comparing these two qualitatively different risks is something you do only if you're trying to be dishonest.
More likely, it's that it's hard to put low level risks in common terms and journalists (and scientists and educators!) struggle to do it all the time.
I'm not sure how qualitatively different they are, FWIW. Uranium is an alpha particle emitter. Alpha particles are extremely heavy, so even with moderately high energy they can't penetrate skin; instead any damage is caused by ionizing collisions there. Which is pretty identical to how UV radiation poses a risk!
The radiation is more dangerous if you inhale it or ingest it, but again this puts it close to a mundane toxic chemical in terms of safety profile.
posted by mark k at 7:14 AM on May 4, 2022 [5 favorites]
I was going to express 100% confidence things have changed now but to my surprise you can still by uranium ore license-free.
Comparing these two qualitatively different risks is something you do only if you're trying to be dishonest.
More likely, it's that it's hard to put low level risks in common terms and journalists (and scientists and educators!) struggle to do it all the time.
I'm not sure how qualitatively different they are, FWIW. Uranium is an alpha particle emitter. Alpha particles are extremely heavy, so even with moderately high energy they can't penetrate skin; instead any damage is caused by ionizing collisions there. Which is pretty identical to how UV radiation poses a risk!
The radiation is more dangerous if you inhale it or ingest it, but again this puts it close to a mundane toxic chemical in terms of safety profile.
posted by mark k at 7:14 AM on May 4, 2022 [5 favorites]
The set also came with a comic book featuring Dagwood from the popular Blondie comic strip. It was titled "Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom" and written in conjunction with General Leslie Groves, director of the Manhattan Project.
The strip opens with a frame where Dagwood gazes forlornly at a mushroom cloud in the distance:
Blondie: "What's wrong?"
Dagwood: "I am become death, destroyer of worlds."
Blondie: "Again?"
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:24 AM on May 4, 2022 [19 favorites]
The strip opens with a frame where Dagwood gazes forlornly at a mushroom cloud in the distance:
Blondie: "What's wrong?"
Dagwood: "I am become death, destroyer of worlds."
Blondie: "Again?"
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:24 AM on May 4, 2022 [19 favorites]
I was going to express 100% confidence things have changed now but to my surprise you can still by uranium ore license-free.
The Amazon.ca page which that link takes me to just shows me a page of various types of Oreos. Is there something I don't know about Oreos?
That aside, nthing uranium ore if not ingested or inhaled should be fine if left in its container. I come from a mining town and my mine working uncles would give me random "cool" rocks they pocketed, some of which occasionally would have low levels of radioactivity. In elementary school one of my teachers requested that we bring in rocks so they could demonstrate various techniques to help in identifying types of minerals. They expected just mundane rocks found on the ground but I thought it'd be cooler to bring one of my mine rocks into school. I earned some schoolyard respect when the teacher was visibly discombobulated by the movement of the geiger counter, which they were demonstrating, with my rock sample. But yeah radon though is bad.
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:29 AM on May 4, 2022 [2 favorites]
The Amazon.ca page which that link takes me to just shows me a page of various types of Oreos. Is there something I don't know about Oreos?
That aside, nthing uranium ore if not ingested or inhaled should be fine if left in its container. I come from a mining town and my mine working uncles would give me random "cool" rocks they pocketed, some of which occasionally would have low levels of radioactivity. In elementary school one of my teachers requested that we bring in rocks so they could demonstrate various techniques to help in identifying types of minerals. They expected just mundane rocks found on the ground but I thought it'd be cooler to bring one of my mine rocks into school. I earned some schoolyard respect when the teacher was visibly discombobulated by the movement of the geiger counter, which they were demonstrating, with my rock sample. But yeah radon though is bad.
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:29 AM on May 4, 2022 [2 favorites]
The radiation is more dangerous if you inhale it or ingest it
As this nuclear engineer explains, there were consumer products designed to get people there, once up on a time:
In this video, we take an in-depth look at a type of device called an "emanator" that was designed to charge drinking water with radon and was definitely on the more radioactive side. Sales pitches compared such water to "liquid sunshine", suggesting that by bringing a powerful source of radiation inside the body, the beneficial effects that normally obtained only on the skin would be delivered in heightened intensity throughout the organism.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:35 AM on May 4, 2022
As this nuclear engineer explains, there were consumer products designed to get people there, once up on a time:
In this video, we take an in-depth look at a type of device called an "emanator" that was designed to charge drinking water with radon and was definitely on the more radioactive side. Sales pitches compared such water to "liquid sunshine", suggesting that by bringing a powerful source of radiation inside the body, the beneficial effects that normally obtained only on the skin would be delivered in heightened intensity throughout the organism.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:35 AM on May 4, 2022
I’m not really free until I can play with depleted uranium Jarts.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:39 AM on May 4, 2022 [20 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:39 AM on May 4, 2022 [20 favorites]
I had a really big Gilbert chemistry lab kit as a pre-teen, and as I learned more about chemistry, i realilzed there were some dangerous substances in there that no junior high student should be in possession of. Those were simpler, more innocent, and more dangerous times.
posted by Mental Wimp at 7:40 AM on May 4, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Mental Wimp at 7:40 AM on May 4, 2022 [3 favorites]
The Amazon.ca page which that link takes me to just shows me a page of various types of Oreos. Is there something I don't know about Oreos?
Oreos were originally named that because they contained ore; it was seen as a way of familiarizing the public with the mining industry, and diversifying the market for these resources. The original flavors included Cinnabar Crunch, Country Style Skarn, Pitch Blend, and Zesty Hematite. Substituting these ingredients with sugar was a later innovation that boosted them to their current level of global popularity.
posted by xris at 8:05 AM on May 4, 2022 [32 favorites]
Oreos were originally named that because they contained ore; it was seen as a way of familiarizing the public with the mining industry, and diversifying the market for these resources. The original flavors included Cinnabar Crunch, Country Style Skarn, Pitch Blend, and Zesty Hematite. Substituting these ingredients with sugar was a later innovation that boosted them to their current level of global popularity.
posted by xris at 8:05 AM on May 4, 2022 [32 favorites]
This article is essentially just a link to a YT video. Here's the video.
Now get off my lawn.
posted by milnak at 8:20 AM on May 4, 2022
Now get off my lawn.
posted by milnak at 8:20 AM on May 4, 2022
Po-210, as in the Gilbert cloud chamber, is deeply nasty. It did for Litvinenko. It used to be used in anti-static brushes (in admittedly minute quantities) because, hey, why not defeat static charge with ionizing radiation.
There's a sleepy northern Ontario town that's billed as a retirement location. The houses were remarkably cheap, but since many of the foundations were poured with concrete with aggregate from the local uranium mine tailings, you really want to check your radon ventilation and metering before buying anything there. Some of the government-required, mine operator-supplied warning signs around town have a delightfully loopy J. Frank Parnell air to them, like the former mine tailings pond turned nature reserve lake sign with swimming hours vs chest X-ray exposure charts ...
posted by scruss at 8:20 AM on May 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
There's a sleepy northern Ontario town that's billed as a retirement location. The houses were remarkably cheap, but since many of the foundations were poured with concrete with aggregate from the local uranium mine tailings, you really want to check your radon ventilation and metering before buying anything there. Some of the government-required, mine operator-supplied warning signs around town have a delightfully loopy J. Frank Parnell air to them, like the former mine tailings pond turned nature reserve lake sign with swimming hours vs chest X-ray exposure charts ...
posted by scruss at 8:20 AM on May 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
scruss - see my Radon link! Elliot Lake was a favourite summer time retreat for my parents and we had some family there so I spent many happy summers there. Sadly my mum wouldn't let us swim in that tailings pond so we had to swim in the one with all the leeches!
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:40 AM on May 4, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:40 AM on May 4, 2022 [2 favorites]
Previously on this very kit
Just jealous I never had one.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:11 AM on May 4, 2022
Just jealous I never had one.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:11 AM on May 4, 2022
The thread in the previous decade-old post on this has a link to images of that Dagwood Splits the Atom comic, and it's darker than I initially imagined.
The last frame:
THIS ACTION MULTIPLIED TRILLIONS OF TIMES IS THE ATOMIC BOMB!!
*BANG*
THAT WAS AN AWFUL BIG NOISE, EH DAGWOOD? IT TOOK POWER TO MAKE THAT NOISE--ALL WASTED! NOW THE JOB IS TO FIND HOW THAT POWER CAN BE USED, NOT WASTED --
Dagwood [only his hind foot appears in the frame as he presumably runs away]: "BLONDIE!"
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:22 AM on May 4, 2022
The last frame:
THIS ACTION MULTIPLIED TRILLIONS OF TIMES IS THE ATOMIC BOMB!!
*BANG*
THAT WAS AN AWFUL BIG NOISE, EH DAGWOOD? IT TOOK POWER TO MAKE THAT NOISE--ALL WASTED! NOW THE JOB IS TO FIND HOW THAT POWER CAN BE USED, NOT WASTED --
Dagwood [only his hind foot appears in the frame as he presumably runs away]: "BLONDIE!"
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:22 AM on May 4, 2022
More than 100 people from New Jersey high school diagnosed with brain tumors.
In this case, the comments are excellent; in fact, one might almost call them scintillating.
posted by jamjam at 9:36 AM on May 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
In this case, the comments are excellent; in fact, one might almost call them scintillating.
posted by jamjam at 9:36 AM on May 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
The reactor I worked in had a lovely domestic 1930s device for dipping a chunk of radium into your orange juice, to energize it. Cast-iron tripod to stand over your juice glass, well geared crank to raise and lower, black enameled, maybe a little fine line painting?
Along with everything else, we figured you were rinsing orange juice off the whole thing every morning and just letting it drip on the drain board.
posted by clew at 9:45 AM on May 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
Along with everything else, we figured you were rinsing orange juice off the whole thing every morning and just letting it drip on the drain board.
posted by clew at 9:45 AM on May 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
My father was an amateur prospector and a mineral collector. He would give me a big hunk of uranium ore, along with a Geiger counter, to take into school for show-and-tell.
That’s odd — my dad also gave me a Geiger counter to use as a kid. I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to do with it.
And then it clicked.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:59 AM on May 4, 2022 [13 favorites]
That’s odd — my dad also gave me a Geiger counter to use as a kid. I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to do with it.
And then it clicked.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:59 AM on May 4, 2022 [13 favorites]
My dad gave me a Giger counter. Didn't really do much until 1979. Then it absolutely blew up. (It was the only way to be sure.)
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:41 AM on May 4, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:41 AM on May 4, 2022 [4 favorites]
I’ve seen Revigators for sale at flea markets for $5 or $10 any number of times, and I was tempted to buy one just for the sake of the formidable crockery. They were unglazed on the inside and had a ~5/8” thick inner layer of bright yellow ceramic.
I didn’t realize they had so much vanadium, though.
posted by jamjam at 10:44 AM on May 4, 2022
I didn’t realize they had so much vanadium, though.
posted by jamjam at 10:44 AM on May 4, 2022
They have one of these on display at the tiny Pez Museum in Burlingame, CA.
My parents had a radioactive antistatic record cleaner that I used to play with as a kid. It was just an alpha generator, so not necessarily so dangerous unless you ate the radioactive strip. It is made of the same material Russia likes to use to poison its enemies.
posted by eye of newt at 12:06 PM on May 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
My parents had a radioactive antistatic record cleaner that I used to play with as a kid. It was just an alpha generator, so not necessarily so dangerous unless you ate the radioactive strip. It is made of the same material Russia likes to use to poison its enemies.
posted by eye of newt at 12:06 PM on May 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
Those Staticmaster brushes were great (at least, when they were factory-fresh). I had one that was the width of 35mm film for de-dusting before printing in a darkroom. Eventually I noticed it didn't seem to work as well, and checked the lifespan—they're only supposed to last a year.
You can still buy them, and they sell replacement emitter cartridges for existing brushes as well (although they are, as you might expect, basically the cost of a new brush).
They also sell some very snazzy anti-static copper tinsel.
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:12 PM on May 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
You can still buy them, and they sell replacement emitter cartridges for existing brushes as well (although they are, as you might expect, basically the cost of a new brush).
They also sell some very snazzy anti-static copper tinsel.
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:12 PM on May 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
...dipping a chunk of radium into your orange juice, to energize it.
Sunny 226D
posted by theory at 1:32 PM on May 4, 2022 [5 favorites]
Sunny 226D
posted by theory at 1:32 PM on May 4, 2022 [5 favorites]
Everybody says alpha emitters are fairly safe unless you ingest them, and that seems to be true.
However, in the case of polonium 210, the alpha particle has an energy of ~5Mev, and since the emission of a particle produces an equal and opposite momentum in the atom which emits it, that means that atom gains kinetic energy in inverse proportion to the ratio of masses, which in the case of Po 210 alpha decay would be about 20Kev.
And since molecular bond energies are in the 10s of evs at most, a recoil energy of 20Kev is more than enough for the atom to rip the hell out of any lattice or matrix in which it’s embedded, melting or I’d guess even vaporizing a small part of it.
And because alpha particles don’t penetrate surfaces, the polonium itself needs to be on the surface of the brush to exert its anti static effect, and I don’t see how we can guarantee that a person using the brush isn’t breathing in vapor or particles which the recoil might generate, and which would probably contain undecayed atoms of polonium 210.
And the same considerations would apply to smoke detectors.
posted by jamjam at 2:10 PM on May 4, 2022
However, in the case of polonium 210, the alpha particle has an energy of ~5Mev, and since the emission of a particle produces an equal and opposite momentum in the atom which emits it, that means that atom gains kinetic energy in inverse proportion to the ratio of masses, which in the case of Po 210 alpha decay would be about 20Kev.
And since molecular bond energies are in the 10s of evs at most, a recoil energy of 20Kev is more than enough for the atom to rip the hell out of any lattice or matrix in which it’s embedded, melting or I’d guess even vaporizing a small part of it.
And because alpha particles don’t penetrate surfaces, the polonium itself needs to be on the surface of the brush to exert its anti static effect, and I don’t see how we can guarantee that a person using the brush isn’t breathing in vapor or particles which the recoil might generate, and which would probably contain undecayed atoms of polonium 210.
And the same considerations would apply to smoke detectors.
posted by jamjam at 2:10 PM on May 4, 2022
Something is melted or vaporized when the total heat is sufficiently high. Breaking a bond is a different phenomenon and in general the result of breaking one bond will be to create a reactive species that immediately forms another bond with what's nearby (releasing heat.) If the set up were doing this often enough, it would in fact melt, but then you would see it! It's a macroscopic event.
You certainly could be ejecting single atoms. Unlike 238U I can't say I've thought or talked through the science before. But certainly my gut is that this would be a negligible amount. You could test it by looking at the decay curve for the lump of polonium in your brush; if you're losing any appreciable amount the apparent half life would be much shorter than 138 days. So people would know. Then you could worry about what percentage you're inhaling the 2 minutes a day you're close to a brush. I'm having trouble imagining the risk level is going to anywhere near the level of what we get from mundane daily pollutants.
posted by mark k at 3:05 PM on May 4, 2022
You certainly could be ejecting single atoms. Unlike 238U I can't say I've thought or talked through the science before. But certainly my gut is that this would be a negligible amount. You could test it by looking at the decay curve for the lump of polonium in your brush; if you're losing any appreciable amount the apparent half life would be much shorter than 138 days. So people would know. Then you could worry about what percentage you're inhaling the 2 minutes a day you're close to a brush. I'm having trouble imagining the risk level is going to anywhere near the level of what we get from mundane daily pollutants.
posted by mark k at 3:05 PM on May 4, 2022
My dad has a piece of Trinitite that he picked up from Trinity Site during a visit in the mid-60s. It's in his bottom dresser drawer wrapped up in an old sock and a few layers of cloth and in a wooden box. I don't think it's radioactive at all, but it's a weird little nuclear artifact to have hanging around.
posted by hippybear at 6:07 PM on May 4, 2022
posted by hippybear at 6:07 PM on May 4, 2022
Something is melted or vaporized when the total heat is sufficiently high. Breaking a bond is a different phenomenon and in general the result of breaking one bond will be to create a reactive species that immediately forms another bond with what's nearby (releasing heat.) If the set up were doing this often enough, it would in fact melt, but then you would see it! It's a macroscopic event.
I don’t think so.
Macroscopic melting is mediated by processes which happen basically at the speed of sound, nominally 6000 m/sec in solids, but a 5 Mev alpha particle has a velocity of 15,000 km/sec or 15,000,000 m/sec, which means that the recoil of the atom which emitted it has an initial recoil velocity of 300,000 m/sec, which is 50 times the speed of sound.
That implies that a huge amount of energy remains concentrated in a tiny volume, and about the only place it can go for a vertically emitted alpha particle is a plume above the surface as the recoiling particle plunges into the body of the solid.
For an alpha particle emitted at a low angle, the recoiling atom would eject even more material into the air as it plows along closer to the surface.
posted by jamjam at 7:43 PM on May 4, 2022
I don’t think so.
Macroscopic melting is mediated by processes which happen basically at the speed of sound, nominally 6000 m/sec in solids, but a 5 Mev alpha particle has a velocity of 15,000 km/sec or 15,000,000 m/sec, which means that the recoil of the atom which emitted it has an initial recoil velocity of 300,000 m/sec, which is 50 times the speed of sound.
That implies that a huge amount of energy remains concentrated in a tiny volume, and about the only place it can go for a vertically emitted alpha particle is a plume above the surface as the recoiling particle plunges into the body of the solid.
For an alpha particle emitted at a low angle, the recoiling atom would eject even more material into the air as it plows along closer to the surface.
posted by jamjam at 7:43 PM on May 4, 2022
I don’t see how we can guarantee that a person using the brush isn’t breathing in vapor or particles which the recoil might generate
IIRC this is a pretty small effect - the recoiling nucleus will create a crystal defect and might end up leaving the original matrix but not much else happens. It can be seen in isotope ratios but does not change the safety picture much.
posted by each day we work at 8:17 PM on May 4, 2022
IIRC this is a pretty small effect - the recoiling nucleus will create a crystal defect and might end up leaving the original matrix but not much else happens. It can be seen in isotope ratios but does not change the safety picture much.
posted by each day we work at 8:17 PM on May 4, 2022
Also nuclei are heavy and cannot travel in air much. In solid state alpha spectroscopy which is done in a vacuum, they will kick out of the sample and contaminate your detector if you count too close but a small reverse bias voltage is enough to stop them.
posted by each day we work at 8:23 PM on May 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by each day we work at 8:23 PM on May 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
My narrow point was about melting being an aggregate quality; you need enough atoms to form liquid to "melt." Upon consideration it could be a term of art for the molecular events you describe so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
More relevantly: Seems like the polonium in anti static brushes is a very low concentration in a gold foil matrix. It was formerly ceramic beads. If I did the math right in my head (and please correct me if I screwed this up) it's about a nanogram total material. So after a decay you'll have what's now a fast moving lead nucleus rolling around; it will hit gold nuclei, if it hits anything. If it hits a lot the speed will rapidly be dispersed as the heavy atoms collide with others, it will eventually become heat energy but you won't be getting a plume. If it hits a few you have one lead and a few gold atoms ejected but nothing radioactive beyond that.
posted by mark k at 8:57 PM on May 4, 2022
More relevantly: Seems like the polonium in anti static brushes is a very low concentration in a gold foil matrix. It was formerly ceramic beads. If I did the math right in my head (and please correct me if I screwed this up) it's about a nanogram total material. So after a decay you'll have what's now a fast moving lead nucleus rolling around; it will hit gold nuclei, if it hits anything. If it hits a lot the speed will rapidly be dispersed as the heavy atoms collide with others, it will eventually become heat energy but you won't be getting a plume. If it hits a few you have one lead and a few gold atoms ejected but nothing radioactive beyond that.
posted by mark k at 8:57 PM on May 4, 2022
I have a small lump of uranium ore that my dad got somewhere when I was a kid, c. 1970.
My high school had (late 1970s) a ball of mercury about the size of a grapefruit. It was great.
In college (early 1980s) I did a little research at the particle accelerator in Los Alamos. At every building entrance there was a Geiger counter just inside the door. It would emit a few clicks whenever some walked by. Upon arrival we were told that "If you walk by and it clicks a lot and an alarm sounds, stop and wait. Men in spacesuits will come and get you."
posted by neuron at 9:40 PM on May 4, 2022 [2 favorites]
My high school had (late 1970s) a ball of mercury about the size of a grapefruit. It was great.
In college (early 1980s) I did a little research at the particle accelerator in Los Alamos. At every building entrance there was a Geiger counter just inside the door. It would emit a few clicks whenever some walked by. Upon arrival we were told that "If you walk by and it clicks a lot and an alarm sounds, stop and wait. Men in spacesuits will come and get you."
posted by neuron at 9:40 PM on May 4, 2022 [2 favorites]
It is made of the same material Russia likes to use to poison its enemies.
You'll have to be more specific.
posted by acb at 8:45 AM on May 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
You'll have to be more specific.
posted by acb at 8:45 AM on May 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
It is made of the same material Russia likes to use to poison its enemies.
You'll have to be more specific.
Do a Google search for "Polonium 120 Russia" and you'll get lots of search results. Polonium 120 is what is used in these antistatic record cleaners.
posted by eye of newt at 11:47 AM on May 5, 2022
Mod note: just as an fyi, an earlier comment linked to an Amazon (US) page, but because a referral code was automatically tacked on, would direct others to their country-specific Amazon, leading to a bit of an Oreo mystery. I've removed that referral code!
posted by taz (staff) at 2:01 AM on May 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by taz (staff) at 2:01 AM on May 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
Do a Google search for "Polonium 120 Russia" and you'll get lots of search results.
I think acb's point was that Russia has a pretty long track record of dissidents being poisoned both before and after the Litvinenko incident. Here's a pretty good list of incidents reported over the years.
posted by photo guy at 5:38 PM on May 7, 2022
I think acb's point was that Russia has a pretty long track record of dissidents being poisoned both before and after the Litvinenko incident. Here's a pretty good list of incidents reported over the years.
posted by photo guy at 5:38 PM on May 7, 2022
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2. The U-238 samples were unrefined ore and not a significant radiation risk, so the danger is being overhyped. More concerning would be the toxic effects if ingested, but having this out and uncontrolled was par for the course in a time where students were told to play with mercury in science class.
What I love is how people took their science kits seriously back in the day. Today all you can get are non-toxic slime and invisible ink “experiments”.
posted by cardboard at 5:43 AM on May 4, 2022 [24 favorites]