shadetree57
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Thats not cool callin him TRASHER....
Uh Oh, I just saw that. Sometimes I don't spell to good. Sorry Trasher,Uh, I mean THRASHER.
Tritium (H-3) - Walking around land mines?
- Thread starter thrasherfox
- Start date
Uh Oh, I just saw that. Sometimes I don't spell to good. Sorry Trasher,Uh, I mean THRASHER.
Tritium glows green...FYI
Your exposed to cosmic radiation at the rate of 200mr a year. Which is little of nothing. I work with radiation and I'm allowed to receive 25x that amount a year. The tritium isn't in all signs and is housed inside a hard "lamp" and the activity is measured in micro curies. Its also the same with glowing night sights on a gun. They radiation makes the phosphor lamp glow. Just don't chew on it drink it or ingest it and you'll be fine. The signs that have the radiation are the high quality and glowing ones not the ones that are lit. They are lit with absolutely no power.
You'd have to receive such a large dose to sterilize that reproduction would be the least of your worries.
The type of radiation that produces that can hurt you comes in three general forms. Gamma rays beta and alpha particles. They only concern I would guess would be the expoasure to the particles which could only happen by ingestion of them which only happens when you directly are in contact with a radioactive material.
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You'd have to receive such a large dose to sterilize that reproduction would be the least of your worries.
The type of radiation that produces that can hurt you comes in three general forms. Gamma rays beta and alpha particles. They only concern I would guess would be the expoasure to the particles which could only happen by ingestion of them which only happens when you directly are in contact with a radioactive material.
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Thats why I love this board. A vast amount of knowledge, if you post a question it is almost gauranteed someone will have an answer 
no just turn the barell the opposit direction so the criminal gets the full dose and you can rest easy knowing you caused him more harm and have the last laugh
How about radioactive spark plugs~!~
Yes, it's true... back in the 40's, some types of spark plugs had trace amounts of polonium in the gap, presumably to ionize the air. This allowed a larger gap to be used. I'm not a motor-head, but I guess a larger spark gap is a good thing, presumably because it would result in a higher voltage before breakdown.
Fiestaware
The Homer Laughlin China Co. of Newell W.Va. produced a range of brightly coloured earthenware called Fiesta Ware. The red glaze produced from 1936-1943 contained uranium oxide, which is slightly radiaoactive
Glow In The Dark Clock Hands
The classic case of radiation poisoning. Radium was painted on the hands of clocks, so they would glow in the dark. The radium was painted by women, who had the bad habit of licking the brush tips to form them, ingesting the radium.
Tritium Glow Lights
Tritium (heavy hydrogen with two neutrons) is radioactive, emitting beta particles with a low energy of 18 keV, and having a 12 year half life. besides being useful when building hydrogen bombs, it also has numerous other applications.
A variety of items are sold containing tritium and phosphors, which glow in the dark. Examples include compasses, wristwatches, and glow in the dark keychains, as well as emergency exit signs. The tritium betas excite the phosphors, causing them to glow with visible light. A few microns of plastic is sufficient to block the betas, so the items are quite safe. Unless you were to open one, I guess. Some of thse things have several curies of tritium in them. I don't know what the health effects would be of exposure. Probably not as bad as from the phosphors!
Update! They may not be quite so safe... I decided to place one on a pancake GM detector. The readings went from 55 CPM background to about 210 CM. I then removed the actual glass tube (with the tritium and phosphors) from the plastic holder, and the reading jumped to about 690 CPM. I suspect that the betas are hitting the glass, and creating x-rays, with a peak energy of 18 keV. The plastic absorbs most, but not all, of them.
Thoriated Welding Rods
Thoriated Tungsten Electrodes used in TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding usually contain 2 percent thorium oxide (ThO2 so technically it is thorium dioxide). Thoriated tungsten can typically be identified either by a red colored band for 2 percent or a yellow band for 1 percent ThO2. Thorium was used to help strike and maintain a better arc stability under DC welding vs. AC welding which uses pure tungsten electrodes. A 3/32 inch electrode across a Ludlum 44-9 pancake GM probe will make a nice (and cheap) check source with a reduced likelihood of contamination (as long as you don't weld or grind the electrode!) especially when compared to lantern mantels. It is recommended by the American Welding Society in keeping with ALARA principles to replace the thoriated electrodes with 2% lanthineated (blue color band).
Vacuum Tubes
Radioactive materials were sometimes used as an ionizer in voltage regulators. Tube types 0A2 and 0B2, and 6143. Thorium (thoriated tungsten) in the filament.
Thorium Camping Lantern Mantles:
Some camping lantern mantles contain trace amounts of thorium.
Why? It involves the property candlelumenescence (sometimes 'thermoluminescence' or just 'incandescence'). Essentially it means something emits light very efficiently when it's in a flame. Note that this doesn't really explain anything. For instance Yttrium Oxide is used as a phosphor (as in a TV set). So some sort of interesting calalyst/bandgap thing might be going on. Whatever it is, it certainly isn't just plain old incandescence because the light is not generated at 5000 degrees C. Current Coleman lanterns use Yttrium oxide instead.
So I went out to my local WalMart, and picked up two packs, one is made by Coleman, the other is a "no-name" brand. The are both made in India (supposedly mantles made in India are more likely to contain thorium). The Coleman package had no warnings about Thorium on the bag, while the other one did mention it contained a radioactive material, although thorium was not specifically mentioned.
Placing the Coleman mantle on the GM tube had no effect, so I can presume that Coleman no longer uses Thorium (at least not in all their products). The other package was a different matter! Just placing the unopened bag near the GM tube caused the readings to shoot up from a background of about 40 CPM, to around 550 CPM! Removing the mantle from the bag caused the readings to shoot up even higher, to around 9000 CPM. They may have been higher, my homebrew counter only goes up to 9999 counts before it wraps around. With the mantle exposed, I suspect that the GM tube was now detecting Alpha particles that previously were stopped by the plastic bag.
Radioactive Salt Substitute:
Watching your sodium intake by using a salt substitute? Well, while you may be decreasing your sodium intake, you're also slightly increasing your radiation levels. Salt substitutes contain Potassium Chloride, rather than Sodium Chloride (common table salt).
As it turns out, approximately 0.01% of the Potassium found in nature is Potassium-40, a radioactive isotope with a half life of 1.28 billion years. It's a beta emitter, with an energy of 1.3 MeV (millions of electron volts). Due to the very long half life, the activity is rather low, meaning you need a bit of it to actually get a measurable quantity of radiation.
As an experiment, I bought a small (3.5 ounces, 100 grams) bottle of it from the supermarket and placed it in front of my geiger tube (pancake style with a mica window). The reading jumped from around 8 counts per minute (CPM) to 35 CPM, more than a factor of four. I then poured a small amount (perhaps a tablespoon) onto a piece of paper, and then positioned the GM detector just above the salt. The reading went up to around 100 CPM. While not a huge amount of radiation, it is about 12 times the background level, and quite detectable.
supposedly mantles made in India are more likely to contain thorium - That one struck me as funny~!~
And salt substitute~??~
Yes, it's true... back in the 40's, some types of spark plugs had trace amounts of polonium in the gap, presumably to ionize the air. This allowed a larger gap to be used. I'm not a motor-head, but I guess a larger spark gap is a good thing, presumably because it would result in a higher voltage before breakdown.
Fiestaware
The Homer Laughlin China Co. of Newell W.Va. produced a range of brightly coloured earthenware called Fiesta Ware. The red glaze produced from 1936-1943 contained uranium oxide, which is slightly radiaoactive
Glow In The Dark Clock Hands
The classic case of radiation poisoning. Radium was painted on the hands of clocks, so they would glow in the dark. The radium was painted by women, who had the bad habit of licking the brush tips to form them, ingesting the radium.
Tritium Glow Lights
Tritium (heavy hydrogen with two neutrons) is radioactive, emitting beta particles with a low energy of 18 keV, and having a 12 year half life. besides being useful when building hydrogen bombs, it also has numerous other applications.
A variety of items are sold containing tritium and phosphors, which glow in the dark. Examples include compasses, wristwatches, and glow in the dark keychains, as well as emergency exit signs. The tritium betas excite the phosphors, causing them to glow with visible light. A few microns of plastic is sufficient to block the betas, so the items are quite safe. Unless you were to open one, I guess. Some of thse things have several curies of tritium in them. I don't know what the health effects would be of exposure. Probably not as bad as from the phosphors!
Update! They may not be quite so safe... I decided to place one on a pancake GM detector. The readings went from 55 CPM background to about 210 CM. I then removed the actual glass tube (with the tritium and phosphors) from the plastic holder, and the reading jumped to about 690 CPM. I suspect that the betas are hitting the glass, and creating x-rays, with a peak energy of 18 keV. The plastic absorbs most, but not all, of them.
Thoriated Welding Rods
Thoriated Tungsten Electrodes used in TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding usually contain 2 percent thorium oxide (ThO2 so technically it is thorium dioxide). Thoriated tungsten can typically be identified either by a red colored band for 2 percent or a yellow band for 1 percent ThO2. Thorium was used to help strike and maintain a better arc stability under DC welding vs. AC welding which uses pure tungsten electrodes. A 3/32 inch electrode across a Ludlum 44-9 pancake GM probe will make a nice (and cheap) check source with a reduced likelihood of contamination (as long as you don't weld or grind the electrode!) especially when compared to lantern mantels. It is recommended by the American Welding Society in keeping with ALARA principles to replace the thoriated electrodes with 2% lanthineated (blue color band).
Vacuum Tubes
Radioactive materials were sometimes used as an ionizer in voltage regulators. Tube types 0A2 and 0B2, and 6143. Thorium (thoriated tungsten) in the filament.
Thorium Camping Lantern Mantles:
Some camping lantern mantles contain trace amounts of thorium.
Why? It involves the property candlelumenescence (sometimes 'thermoluminescence' or just 'incandescence'). Essentially it means something emits light very efficiently when it's in a flame. Note that this doesn't really explain anything. For instance Yttrium Oxide is used as a phosphor (as in a TV set). So some sort of interesting calalyst/bandgap thing might be going on. Whatever it is, it certainly isn't just plain old incandescence because the light is not generated at 5000 degrees C. Current Coleman lanterns use Yttrium oxide instead.
So I went out to my local WalMart, and picked up two packs, one is made by Coleman, the other is a "no-name" brand. The are both made in India (supposedly mantles made in India are more likely to contain thorium). The Coleman package had no warnings about Thorium on the bag, while the other one did mention it contained a radioactive material, although thorium was not specifically mentioned.
Placing the Coleman mantle on the GM tube had no effect, so I can presume that Coleman no longer uses Thorium (at least not in all their products). The other package was a different matter! Just placing the unopened bag near the GM tube caused the readings to shoot up from a background of about 40 CPM, to around 550 CPM! Removing the mantle from the bag caused the readings to shoot up even higher, to around 9000 CPM. They may have been higher, my homebrew counter only goes up to 9999 counts before it wraps around. With the mantle exposed, I suspect that the GM tube was now detecting Alpha particles that previously were stopped by the plastic bag.
Radioactive Salt Substitute:
Watching your sodium intake by using a salt substitute? Well, while you may be decreasing your sodium intake, you're also slightly increasing your radiation levels. Salt substitutes contain Potassium Chloride, rather than Sodium Chloride (common table salt).
As it turns out, approximately 0.01% of the Potassium found in nature is Potassium-40, a radioactive isotope with a half life of 1.28 billion years. It's a beta emitter, with an energy of 1.3 MeV (millions of electron volts). Due to the very long half life, the activity is rather low, meaning you need a bit of it to actually get a measurable quantity of radiation.
As an experiment, I bought a small (3.5 ounces, 100 grams) bottle of it from the supermarket and placed it in front of my geiger tube (pancake style with a mica window). The reading jumped from around 8 counts per minute (CPM) to 35 CPM, more than a factor of four. I then poured a small amount (perhaps a tablespoon) onto a piece of paper, and then positioned the GM detector just above the salt. The reading went up to around 100 CPM. While not a huge amount of radiation, it is about 12 times the background level, and quite detectable.
supposedly mantles made in India are more likely to contain thorium - That one struck me as funny~!~
And salt substitute~??~
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Thats why I love this board. A vast amount of knowledge, if you post a question it is almost gauranteed someone will have an answer
What is cpm in mr?
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Tritium isn't really anything to worry about, the amounts involved are minimal in the extreme, even in an exit sign. It dissipates rapidly if the vials are compromised, and it's not an Alpha Emitter.
Tritium is just hydrogen if you want to look at it that way, it's a beta emitter, it cannot penetrate skin, so no worries, try not to eat any.
Tritium is just hydrogen if you want to look at it that way, it's a beta emitter, it cannot penetrate skin, so no worries, try not to eat any.
Tritium isn't really anything to worry about, the amounts involved are minimal in the extreme, even in an exit sign. It dissipates rapidly if the vials are compromised, and it's not an Alpha Emitter.
Tritium is just hydrogen if you want to look at it that way, it's a beta emitter, it cannot penetrate skin, so no worries, try not to eat any.
I thought all disintegrations produced alpha and beta. Could be wrong though.
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Ummm Instead of posting as though you're the one doing the "research" it might be good to go ahead and cite sources.
Unless of course you're the one that's also posted this information at: Black Cat Systems
Where your entire post seems to have originated. Using the "quote" feature is a good idea, or simply providing a link. Otherwise the "I" language used throughout gives the impression (intentional or not) that YOU personally have gained this knowledge through your own efforts. If that's the case then fine, I'd probably still be inclined to link to my own research and web page though regardless.
Just a thought. :sasmokin:
Different sources different emissions. Has something to do with energy levels and density. I'm NOT an expert, just a black belt in Google. Alpha particles though are kinda different. <----- Technical term.
Wikipedia seems to have a decent answer though and here's a link to a Kick butt interactive Periodic Chart.
ETA, Through Reading I found the following. Why alpha particles are so dangerous...
I knew there was a reason Alpha particles spook me more than beta... And Gamma? Well then you're just kinda SOL.
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I use gamma at work. The isotopes I use are "special" form which means encapsuulated and no alpha or beta can escape.
Learn something everyday.
Also alpha is the larger of the two which is one reason its so hard to exposure yourself to unless you just like eating radioactive material. Neither can penetrate skin or a sheet of paper for that matter.
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