Max's Cool Beans
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Max the Magnificent
Cool Beans -- I don;t know why, but I find it strangely relaxing to have my ...
fwjava
Hey, the radioactive marbles work terrific. I have eight to test my geiger ...
I have radioactive balls!
Clive Maxfield
4/21/2011 11:48 AM EDT
Hmmm, perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that I am now the proud owner of a pair of radioactive marbles…
It’s a funny old world when you come to think about it. A few weeks ago I penned a blog Is that a Geiger counter in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me? (Click Here to see that column.) In my musings I mentioned that I live just down the road from a nuclear power plant. Also, that with everything that’s going on in Japan, it might be a good idea to own a Geiger counter.
Well, someone suggested a cheap-and-cheerful do-it-yourself kit, which I duly sent off for and constructed. But when I powered it up … nothing happened as I discussed in a follow-up blog My Geiger counter doesn’t count! (Click Here to see that column.)
In that follow-up column, I mentioned that one potential problem was the fact that I didn’t have a radioactive source with which to test my counter – so as far as I knew (at that time) it might be working perfectly. Since then, of course, I’ve discovered that there is a problem because the LED is always on (it should only flash when a radiation event occurs) and I should be seeing a few flashes and hearing a few clicks every minute caused by background radiation.
Eventually I ended up sending my kit to David Ashton in Australia, because he is a master when it comes to fixing things that don’t work. By some strange quirk of fate, however, shortly after I’d returned from the post office, I received an email from Nick Bricteux (www.xtor.us) saying that he had just posted two uranium glass marbles to me – they arrived on my desk a few moments ago as I pen these words:
So, as I say, it’s a funny old world, because last week I had a Geiger counter but no source of radioactivity, and now I have a pair or radioactive marbles but no Geiger counter. Is it just me, or does everyone have problems like this?
Of course the fun thing is that I am now the only person I know – apart from Nick – who owns a pair of radioactive marbles (Nick assures me that they are only mildly radioactive – together they should be about 4 to 10 times higher than background radiation). Apart from anything else, this will give me some bragging rights here in the office and at family parties and suchlike (“What Shayne, you don’t own any radioactive marbles?).
Nick also provided some additional information as follows:
Uranium glass (also called Vaseline glass – yellowish-green to dark-yellow depending on lighting and uranium content) was well known in the US before the war, but when the potential of uranium was realized during the war the metal was requisitioned for the war effort like copper and chrome (the very few new cars of that time came with black bumpers, headlights rings, trims, etc.. They were called "Black Special Edition" or the like). American cars in the 40's without any chrome, that makes you think...
Uranium glass had two main uses: one like any glass for dinnerware, ashtrays, drinking glasses and what have you. Its appeal was mainly its color. The other, more interesting use, was to make glass tubing out of it to use in "neon" signs (even though there was none in those devices). Due to its bright yellowish green fluorescence, you could make bright signs in the color where the eye is the most sensitive (~555nm wavelength). Just fill the tube with some argon gas at the right pressure and add some mercury to generate truckloads of UV radiation and there you go. The glass itself (like most glass) is mostly opaque to the UV anyway. That was a nice setup. It was also a lot less involved and less "tricky" than using phosphors (like it's done now) also the phosphors would degrade while the uranium glass wouldn't.
When the ban on commercial use of uranium took effect, the mood (war time) was not really about making "neon" signs anyway and a few places had such a glass in stock. After the war... began the cold war and not many people wanted to sell uranium-based products; the law was vague, patriotism and confusion were high, demand was low, and that part of the industry pretty much vanished (in the US anyway).
Some countries in central Europe (i.e. Czechoslovakia) never stopped making uranium glass and it's pretty common over there. (Check for "uranium glass" or "Vaseline glass" on EBay). I got the marbles from EBay, a very good deal. I am pretty sure it's not from US origin. But I also have a working "neon" tube that a very old (Chicago) sign company made for me where the central part is made out of uranium glass. Nice effect. I think that the uranium content isn't that high though. I also have a much longer tube from the twenties presumably, where the uranium content is much higher – my Geiger counter will attest of that. Those tubes are most likely from US origin.
If you ever go to Glendale, CA. maybe you should visit the Museum Of Neon Art (MONA) where they have examples of uranium glass on display among other very cool things...
That MONA is a good tip – I will certainly try to make it out there sometime. Nick also mentioned that he did "test" the marbled before he mailed them to me, both with his Geiger counter and by putting them under a UV light – as he says: “The bright yellowish-green fluorescence under UV light doesn't lie.”
Of course this means that as soon as I post this blog I’m going to take a wander around the building to see if I can find a UV light source (I think I recall one of the engineers downstairs has a UV tube hanging over some plants in his windowless office).
It’s only early morning and today is already off to an interesting start… I wonder what the afternoon will bring…
It’s a funny old world when you come to think about it. A few weeks ago I penned a blog Is that a Geiger counter in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me? (Click Here to see that column.) In my musings I mentioned that I live just down the road from a nuclear power plant. Also, that with everything that’s going on in Japan, it might be a good idea to own a Geiger counter.
Well, someone suggested a cheap-and-cheerful do-it-yourself kit, which I duly sent off for and constructed. But when I powered it up … nothing happened as I discussed in a follow-up blog My Geiger counter doesn’t count! (Click Here to see that column.)
In that follow-up column, I mentioned that one potential problem was the fact that I didn’t have a radioactive source with which to test my counter – so as far as I knew (at that time) it might be working perfectly. Since then, of course, I’ve discovered that there is a problem because the LED is always on (it should only flash when a radiation event occurs) and I should be seeing a few flashes and hearing a few clicks every minute caused by background radiation.
Eventually I ended up sending my kit to David Ashton in Australia, because he is a master when it comes to fixing things that don’t work. By some strange quirk of fate, however, shortly after I’d returned from the post office, I received an email from Nick Bricteux (www.xtor.us) saying that he had just posted two uranium glass marbles to me – they arrived on my desk a few moments ago as I pen these words:
So, as I say, it’s a funny old world, because last week I had a Geiger counter but no source of radioactivity, and now I have a pair or radioactive marbles but no Geiger counter. Is it just me, or does everyone have problems like this?
Of course the fun thing is that I am now the only person I know – apart from Nick – who owns a pair of radioactive marbles (Nick assures me that they are only mildly radioactive – together they should be about 4 to 10 times higher than background radiation). Apart from anything else, this will give me some bragging rights here in the office and at family parties and suchlike (“What Shayne, you don’t own any radioactive marbles?).
Nick also provided some additional information as follows:
Uranium glass (also called Vaseline glass – yellowish-green to dark-yellow depending on lighting and uranium content) was well known in the US before the war, but when the potential of uranium was realized during the war the metal was requisitioned for the war effort like copper and chrome (the very few new cars of that time came with black bumpers, headlights rings, trims, etc.. They were called "Black Special Edition" or the like). American cars in the 40's without any chrome, that makes you think...
Uranium glass had two main uses: one like any glass for dinnerware, ashtrays, drinking glasses and what have you. Its appeal was mainly its color. The other, more interesting use, was to make glass tubing out of it to use in "neon" signs (even though there was none in those devices). Due to its bright yellowish green fluorescence, you could make bright signs in the color where the eye is the most sensitive (~555nm wavelength). Just fill the tube with some argon gas at the right pressure and add some mercury to generate truckloads of UV radiation and there you go. The glass itself (like most glass) is mostly opaque to the UV anyway. That was a nice setup. It was also a lot less involved and less "tricky" than using phosphors (like it's done now) also the phosphors would degrade while the uranium glass wouldn't.
When the ban on commercial use of uranium took effect, the mood (war time) was not really about making "neon" signs anyway and a few places had such a glass in stock. After the war... began the cold war and not many people wanted to sell uranium-based products; the law was vague, patriotism and confusion were high, demand was low, and that part of the industry pretty much vanished (in the US anyway).
Some countries in central Europe (i.e. Czechoslovakia) never stopped making uranium glass and it's pretty common over there. (Check for "uranium glass" or "Vaseline glass" on EBay). I got the marbles from EBay, a very good deal. I am pretty sure it's not from US origin. But I also have a working "neon" tube that a very old (Chicago) sign company made for me where the central part is made out of uranium glass. Nice effect. I think that the uranium content isn't that high though. I also have a much longer tube from the twenties presumably, where the uranium content is much higher – my Geiger counter will attest of that. Those tubes are most likely from US origin.
If you ever go to Glendale, CA. maybe you should visit the Museum Of Neon Art (MONA) where they have examples of uranium glass on display among other very cool things...
That MONA is a good tip – I will certainly try to make it out there sometime. Nick also mentioned that he did "test" the marbled before he mailed them to me, both with his Geiger counter and by putting them under a UV light – as he says: “The bright yellowish-green fluorescence under UV light doesn't lie.”
Of course this means that as soon as I post this blog I’m going to take a wander around the building to see if I can find a UV light source (I think I recall one of the engineers downstairs has a UV tube hanging over some plants in his windowless office).
It’s only early morning and today is already off to an interesting start… I wonder what the afternoon will bring…
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Max the Magnificent
4/21/2011 12:02 PM EDT
As soon as I get my (working) Geiger counter back from David I will do a follow-up blog with a YouTube video showing it working and also the effect of these radioactive marbles...
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Brian Fuller2
4/21/2011 2:50 PM EDT
There's a limerick in here somewhere!
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Max the Magnificent
4/21/2011 3:14 PM EDT
"There was a young man from Nantucket..." :-)
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Max the Magnificent
4/21/2011 3:14 PM EDT
You must admit that this was an attention-getting title if ever you saw one :-)
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Max the Magnificent
4/21/2011 3:18 PM EDT
Now I'm reminded of some old adverts for teabags in England featuring chimps.
One involved a father and son team in white overalls moving a piano (a take-off of Laural and Hardy, I think).
They pause for a tea break with the older chimp sitting on the piano stool and the young chimp standing at the end of the piano.
The young chimp says "Dad, do you know the piano's on my foot?"
The father replies "You hum it son, and I'll play it." (grin)
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David Ashton
4/21/2011 10:09 PM EDT
Not too hot, but best I can do at short notice with the missus chirping at me to get the lawn mowed....
There was a young lad name of Max
Who said he just couldn’t relax
‘Cos his counter was dead
(Although there was a LED
that stayed on all the time), that’s the facts!
So he sent it across to Australia
Because it was such of a failure
For David to fix it
Let’s hope that he licks it
Else HE will be labeled the failure!
Max has some marbles, they’re yellow
He got from a very kind fellow
They should make some clicks
If the counter is fixed
Then Max will be ever so mellow...
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zeeglen
4/22/2011 8:14 AM EDT
This is hilarious! Good stuff, David.
Last verse wording reminds of a current topic combined with an old song, "I'm flipped out about Cisco..." which keeps resonating with "She's flipped out about me..." (with apologies to Donovan)
The related topic "My Geiger counter doesn't count" resonates with "My boomerang won't come back" (Charlie Drake)
Have to wonder, only the editors know for sure, if some of these headlines are intentionally coined to resemble well-known songs.
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David Ashton
4/22/2011 8:41 AM EDT
Where are you, Glen? You are either very much a night person in the US, or else you're in Europe somewhere I reckon, as your comments always seem to come in the dead of the US night...??
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zeeglen
4/22/2011 7:48 PM EDT
First deduction is correct, a night owl in the USA. It's called insomnia, so if some of my posts seem a bit strange they are the product of a fuzzy mind that cannot sleep.
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Max the Magnificent
4/22/2011 10:21 AM EDT
I certainly remember the song "My boomerang won't come back" but it wasn't in my mind when I penned that title -- although now i think about it another good title would have been "Great (radioactive) balls of fire -- maybe I'll use that for the next article once David has got my Geiger counter working (said Max, hopefully :-)
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David Ashton
4/28/2011 5:12 AM EDT
I'm also reminded of a line from the Stones' song, "Dead Flowers"; "Send me dead geiger counters by the US Mail...."
Thursday week after easter and the damn thing still hasn't got here. Snail mail indeed...
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Max the Magnificent
4/22/2011 10:19 AM EDT
WONDERFUL!!!
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David Ashton
4/21/2011 9:08 PM EDT
"...As soon as I get my (working) Geiger counter back from David...)
I'm touched by your faith, Max, even though your implication is that I don't have any balls....
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David Ashton
4/22/2011 8:19 PM EDT
Glen...ref Insomnia...I keep a bottle of port handy for such occasions....
I couldn't post this as a reply as the "reply" button on comments below 2nd-level responses goes off the edge of the page now...does everyone get this or is it just me with my antique 800 MHz P4 with W2000 and IE6?
(I have the week after easter off...10 days off for 3 days leave...good value...but one of my projects is to put together my "new" 2 GHz PC with XP and IE8 - with bits begged or bought for a song from mates who have to have the latest and greatest.)
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zeeglen
4/22/2011 10:07 PM EDT
I use W2000 and looks like the 4th level is the limit. No "REPLY" is available, probably because the column would end up too narrow.
Good luck with your new PC project. But how are you going to do Max's Geiger counter at the same time? :-)
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David Ashton
4/23/2011 5:47 AM EDT
Well Max's counter is still on the way, and I won't get that before wednesday as it's all public holidays here till then. So IF I can get the new PC going this weekend then I'll be ready for Max's counter next week.
Hopefully.....
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carno
4/25/2011 9:26 AM EDT
The problem is IE6. I don't know if Firefox runs on Win2k but it doesn't have the width limitation. I haven't tried Chrome or Safari but I doubt they would run on Win2k.
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David Ashton
4/26/2011 6:27 AM EDT
Thanks Carno...the firefox site has no info on whether it'll run on W2000. I'm trying to fire up a PC with XP but not having a lot of luck as yet.
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Amcfarl
5/6/2011 7:29 AM EDT
Just what kind of plants are you growing in a windowless office?
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Max the Magnificent
5/6/2011 9:47 AM EDT
Not me -- one of the guys in the building -- I have no idea what they are -- I just remembered seeing them with this purple fluorescent light -- it struck me that the UV would be bad for his eyes, but he said he got the light from Wal-Mart and there was no warning with it and my balls didn't glow so I assume there isn't much UV...
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Max the Magnificent
5/24/2011 1:03 PM EDT
David has fixed my Geiger counter -- also he's written a GREAT article describing everything he did (http://bit.ly/jclBdM)
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fwjava
3/6/2012 5:55 PM EST
Hey, the radioactive marbles work terrific. I have eight to test my geiger counter.
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Max the Magnificent
3/6/2012 6:32 PM EST
Cool Beans -- I don;t know why, but I find it strangely relaxing to have my Geiger Counter clicking quietly away to itself as it reports the small amount of background radiation...
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