Full Member
Native
Dissapointing beta light
Took mine into Physics class.
We were leaning about radioactivity and last week were shown a GM tube...but nothing radioactive...
So I said Id find something.
But the beta light was hardly above the background radiation.
However it is 15 years old.
still glows well though
Settler
Settler
get your self an old ww2 compass (like a TG and co) or airplane dial from the second world as these are surprisingly radioactive, i have a TG WW2 compass that kicks out about 2m/rad an hour - enough to make the dial on a CDV-700 move up to the halfway mark!Originally Posted by Tengu
www.TheTimeChamber.co.uk - Now re-launched.
Native
Native
The Beta light is not supposed to give you any radiation. The thick glass capsule stops beta radiation fairly well..
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Native
I've got a PII aircraft compass that some companies would not touch (to refill the alcohol) because of the radioactive paint used on it !
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Native
I'd be running away from that also.. Radium based.. Not nice at all
Ka tū te ihiihi Ka tū te wanawana Ki runga ki te rangi e tū iho nei, tū iho nei, hī!
Settler
Settler
Yeah likewise lol so it just got to put up with having a bubble in lol
the compass gives off a bit of radiation but only if you put the pancake probe actually within about 1cm of it it drops off very sharply after that so im guessing gamma radiation, for that reason when i carry it i put it in my bag rather than in my pocket near my meat and 2 veg lol.......
on a side note the radiation is barely detectable when in the pouch, and as i have no intention of drinking the compass fluid or sleeping with it on my forehead or down my pants then i should be fine!
tengu you can get a source of radiation from a common or garden smoke alarm, its americum and very low level but just about produces a response on my cdv-700 on the most sensitive setting with the tiny piece of metal in the probe
www.TheTimeChamber.co.uk - Now re-launched.
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Native
Beta particles penetrate further than alpha particles but nothing like as far as Gamma rays or X rays and the glass pretty much stops them.
If the glass didn't stop them, people wouldn't be allowed to buy them for lighting tents and maps up.
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Native
Crikey, if it was not the nazi's it was the blooming compass killing the RAF pilots
They still make PII clones but use safer paint.
A few years ago it was discovered the the plot of land that once housed a factory where Disney Mickey Mouse clocks were made was radioactive from the paint used on the clocks (might have been Westclocks?). Further research showed that a disproportionately large amount of ex workers had died from cancer.
Maker
Native
get a lump of granite, that will give a reading
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Native
Yep the effects of radium on the workers painting the dials of clocks and instruments were well know about as far back as the 1920's.Crikey, if it was not the nazi's it was the blooming compass killing the RAF pilots
They still make PII clones but use safer paint.
A few years ago it was discovered the the plot of land that once housed a factory where Disney Mickey Mouse clocks were made was radioactive from the paint used on the clocks (might have been Westclocks?). Further research showed that a disproportionately large amount of ex workers had died from cancer.
Getting a radium clock or compass with a radium dial / needle serviced in todays H+S weary world would be pretty expensive...
Ka tū te ihiihi Ka tū te wanawana Ki runga ki te rangi e tū iho nei, tū iho nei, hī!
Mod
Native
I was just reading this earlier, kind of related ....
http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/ind...ets/DalgetyBay
Settler
Settler
interesting, i might go prospecting with my geiger counter (NOT!)
www.TheTimeChamber.co.uk - Now re-launched.
Full Member
Settler
Radiation should be of concern to bushcrafters who use pressure and gas lanterns.
Radioactive thorium (90,Th) is used as a coating for the mantles. This is not a problem but when the mantle is lit and turns to dust, inhalation or ingestion can occur leading to worries about safety.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_mantle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv45jVJEkqs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=095uCbLssKY
Happy trails...torc.
Last edited by torc; 21-02-2011 at 08:11.
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it"
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