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Sagebrush posted:Don't go taking apart any smoke detectors, though. That's mostly just a weak alpha emitter. Don't eat it and you're fine. There's also barely any in there because americium-241 is hilariously expensive.
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Sep 2, 2016 05:45
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dis astranagant posted:That's mostly just a weak alpha emitter. Don't eat it and you're fine. There's also barely any in there because americium-241 is hilariously expensive. He was determined to irradiate anything he could, and decided to build a neutron "gun." To obtain radioactive materials, David used a number of cover stories and concocted a new identity. He wrote to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), claiming to be a physics instructor at Chippewa Valley High School. The agency's director of isotope production and distribution, Donald Erb, offered him tips on isolating and obtaining radioactive elements, and explained the characteristics of some isotopes, which, when bombarded with neutrons, can sustain a chain reaction. When David asked about the risks, Erb assured him that the "dangers are very slight," since "possession of any radioactive materials in quantities and forms sufficient to pose any hazard is subject to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (or equivalent) licensing." David learned that a tiny amount of the radioactive isotope americium-241 could be found in smoke detectors. he contacted smoke-detector companies and claimed that he needed a large number for a school project. One company sold him about a hundred broken detectors for a dollar apiece. http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/radscout.html
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Sep 2, 2016 05:50
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Really don't disassemble any old Soviet lighthouse beacons though.
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Sep 2, 2016 06:13
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SynthOrange posted:He was determined to irradiate anything he could, and decided to build a neutron "gun." To obtain radioactive materials, David used a number of cover stories and concocted a new identity. The book that got published about all this was pretty good. A quick read too.
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Sep 2, 2016 06:22
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The Lone Badger posted:Really don't disassemble any old Soviet lighthouse beacons though. ... if you can still find any that haven't been stolen or fallen into the sea.
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Sep 2, 2016 06:25
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Also old (and I assume many new as well) lantern mantles contain Thorium
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Sep 2, 2016 06:33
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Sagebrush posted:We have a 75W laser that won't cut metal, and I doubt an extra 5W is the key. Most of what I have seen when it comes to laser cutting steel and stainless is that you need 1.5 to 2+ kW of laser energy to begin to even think of getting into that. And since the lasers are hilariously inefficient, a ton of power is needed. My 60W laser at 100% pulls about 480W, which is ~12.5%, more realistically 10% efficient. so for a 2kW, that is maybe 20kW? And at household voltage sources, that is 80% of you typical 100A panel. And some big rear end wire. Marking stainless is a different story with a fibre laser though. Can pull off some neat poo poo with relatively low power.
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Sep 2, 2016 06:35
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SynthOrange posted:He was determined to irradiate anything he could, and decided to build a neutron "gun." To obtain radioactive materials, David used a number of cover stories and concocted a new identity. 
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Sep 2, 2016 06:56
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Looks like he could use a helping dose of radium water
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Sep 2, 2016 07:04
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John Denver Hoxha posted:Also old (and I assume many new as well) lantern mantles contain Thorium So do some welding electrodes.
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Sep 2, 2016 07:06
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DocCynical posted:Most of what I have seen when it comes to laser cutting steel and stainless is that you need 1.5 to 2+ kW of laser energy to begin to even think of getting into that. And since the lasers are hilariously inefficient, a ton of power is needed. My 60W laser at 100% pulls about 480W, which is ~12.5%, more realistically 10% efficient. so for a 2kW, that is maybe 20kW? And at household voltage sources, that is 80% of you typical 100A panel. And some big rear end wire. Nah, it's not quite that bad. You can cut thin sheet steel (under 1/8") with 400 watts or so of CO2. Thin shim stock and metal foils you might get away with half that. Still need the oxygen blast since that's what's really doing the work, though. Fiber lasers are run at a different frequency, and while I don't know all the details, I understand you can cut metal with lower power levels than the 10.6 micron CO2 beam. Fiber lasers are way more expensive though.
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Sep 2, 2016 07:10
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Sagebrush posted:Nah, it's not quite that bad. You can cut thin sheet steel (under 1/8") with 400 watts or so of CO2. Thin shim stock and metal foils you might get away with half that. Still need the oxygen blast since that's what's really doing the work, though. Ah, the ones I was thinking of were for like 1/4" stainless gaskets that could fit a 4x8 sheet in them with fancy infrared barriers that ESD the machine if you got too close.
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Sep 2, 2016 08:11
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A co-worker was told a scary OSHA story by Guillermo Del Toro about filming Blade 2 in the Czech Republic. They stumbled across a bunch of what were described as "rad looking post-war era lamps" somewhere, bought them and set them up in the location (I think it was for the blood bank scene that opens the film). Half way through the day, the cast and crew's eyes started swelling and tearing up and no one could figure out what was going on so they shut down the set thinking they had a gas leak or an airborne contamination. They called the western medical staff in but no one could figure out what was going on until a local Czech doctor showed up. He looked at the lamps and said something along the lines of "You stupid fuckers, do you know what these are? You know we used to be part of the Soviet Union, right? These are Soviet-made high-powered ultraviolet bacteria-killing lamps that they used to sterilize rooms and you're not supposed to be anywhere near the loving things when they're on. Go home, lay down and keep the lights low. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out if any of you are going to go blind". No one went blind, but Del Toro said the top layer of skin (or whatever it is) on everyone's eyeballs peeled and flaked off during the night and it was really gross and terrifying. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet_germicidal_irradiation posted:In UVGI systems the lamps are shielded or are in environments that limit exposure, such as a closed water tank or closed air circulation system, often with interlocks that automatically shut off the UV lamps if the system is opened for access by human beings. Dillbag fucked around with this message at 09:00 on Sep 2, 2016 |
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Sep 2, 2016 08:57
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Platystemon posted:So do some welding electrodes. Some old camera lenses,too: http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Radioactive_lenses I have three of those.
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Sep 2, 2016 10:02
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Worth it for the badge: "RAD SCOUT!"
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Sep 2, 2016 14:49
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Humphreys posted:Worth it for the badge: That actually is a real merit badge:  Though I guess that's the old design, the new one's actually cooler:  Got quarks and poo poo.
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Sep 2, 2016 15:58
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Krinkle posted:I was almost positive I tried and failed to find anything last night so maybe I phrased it wrong or just remembered wrong. THank you for not here-let-me-google-that-for-you'ing that, it would have been too much for my fragile ego. Yeah, I was curious, too, and your phrasing seemed to be good enough for Google, and then I thought of sharing the search results.
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Sep 2, 2016 16:07
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John Denver Hoxha posted:Also old (and I assume many new as well) lantern mantles contain Thorium Hilarious side note, the neighborhood of Streeterville in Chicago used to be heavily industrial, is now an incredibly sterile and high-priced tower neighborhood right on the lake. The Lindsay Light company was based there and made a ton of these, and not only did they process the thorium ore on site, they dumped it on site, and a bunch of got used as landfill right next door. Which is why the whole area is probably the priciest superfund site in existence. https://www.epa.gov/lindsay-light
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Sep 2, 2016 16:11
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There's also this guy: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_financial_buildings_plot I thought I recalled hearing about a group that actually got a warehouse of old smoke detectors together, but maybe that was more speculation. Definitely not enough to harm anyone, but if they used all the sources and spread them at a few airports and the like, would've created some serious chaos with contamination. Contamination is drat expensive to deal with (see my earlier post and all the others along the way in this thread).
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Sep 2, 2016 16:11
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It's fine, there's a bale of hay on the ground down below.
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Sep 2, 2016 16:15
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Doctor Bombadil posted:Some old camera lenses,too: Oh poo poo I have a bunch of those as well.
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Sep 2, 2016 16:33
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Tons and tons of old watches either have tritium, or radium dials too. Good times.
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Sep 2, 2016 16:44
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Sagebrush posted:The iron oxide has a lower melting point than the steel, Bwuh? Iron oxide doesn't melt until almost 2800 degrees F, not many steels have a melting point that high.
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Sep 2, 2016 16:52
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blugu64 posted:Tons and tons of old watches either have tritium, or radium dials too. Good times. Many guns (including the one I am wearing right now) have tritium night sights. It's really no big deal.
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Sep 2, 2016 17:21
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All I can say about the handheld cleaning lasers:  
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Sep 2, 2016 17:27
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CollegeCop posted:Many guns (including the one I am wearing right now) have tritium night sights. I have a big tritium keychain and it is rad as hell, and really easy to find in the dark
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Sep 2, 2016 17:27
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Dillbag posted:A co-worker was told a scary OSHA story by Guillermo Del Toro about filming Blade 2 in the Czech Republic. They stumbled across a bunch of what were described as "rad looking post-war era lamps" somewhere, bought them and set them up in the location (I think it was for the blood bank scene that opens the film). Half way through the day, the cast and crew's eyes started swelling and tearing up and no one could figure out what was going on so they shut down the set thinking they had a gas leak or an airborne contamination. Suddenly the little charging stand that uses a UVGI lamp to sanitize my toothbrush head seems way more awesome.
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Sep 2, 2016 17:31
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CollegeCop posted:Many guns (including the one I am wearing right now) have tritium night sights. Tritium not a big deal, but the older radium watch dials were dangerous - particularly, to keep it OSHA for once, the workers who hand-painted the dials (the Radium Girls). They would, not having been told any better, use their lips and tongues to keep points on the brush-heads they were using, and subsequently developed radiation poisoning and necrosis of the jaw. Horrible stuff.
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Sep 2, 2016 17:41
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CollegeCop posted:Many guns (including the one I am wearing right now) have tritium night sights. But radium paint is somewhat famous for easily avoidable chronic exposure.
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Sep 2, 2016 17:43
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Dillbag posted:They called the western medical staff in but no one could figure out what was going on until a local Czech doctor showed up. He looked at the lamps and said something along the lines of "You stupid fuckers, do you know what these are? You know we used to be part of the Soviet Union, right? These are Soviet-made high-powered ultraviolet bacteria-killing lamps that they used to sterilize rooms and you're not supposed to be anywhere near the loving things when they're on. Go home, lay down and keep the lights low. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out if any of you are going to go blind". zedprime posted:But radium paint is somewhat famous for easily avoidable chronic exposure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJQbsKPW30w&t=2068s
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Sep 2, 2016 18:58
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As a paramedic i went on a call for an explosion. The subject of our call had been attempting to fill a nitrous oxide tank for his car by heating the bigger tank with a blow torch. The patient was dead on arrival and the biggest piece of him was his head. There were body parts everywhere. A bit of small intestines was even hanging from the rafters of the garage. Another time we get a call for one trapped in a shrimp boat at the pier. When we walk to where the person was supposed to be trapped. The guy had actually gotten his hair wrapped around the axle of the boats motor. It ripped his body apart leaving a twisted pile of body parts strewn about the engine room.
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Sep 2, 2016 19:21
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SelenicMartian posted:Pussies. Every Soviet home had a UV light stashed somewhere. hell yeah  user guide 
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Sep 2, 2016 19:22
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ringu0 posted:hell yeah quote:My work over the photon-guarantee for 24 years. There is always on guard our health, along with onions, garlic and oxolinic ointment.
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Sep 2, 2016 19:27
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There were bigger ones you could use to cleanse an entire room of minor life forms. Those things reek of ozone when they're on, it's hard not to identify them even after you go blind.
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Sep 2, 2016 19:40
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Dillbag posted:No one went blind, but Del Toro said the top layer of skin (or whatever it is) on everyone's eyeballs peeled and flaked off during the night and it was really gross and terrifying. This is a not-uncommon thing for welders - arc burn from looking at an active welding arc without a hood. I experienced it once in high school. It only takes once to be a whole lot more careful. You wake up in the middle of the night because there's something in your eye. Wait, both eyes? Stumble to the bathroom, turn on the light to look and AHHH gently caress IT BURNS. But you can't see so... gently caress it, try the light again. FUKLSHKJFHDSHJFHKSD OW. Repeat a few times until you fully wake up and realize something is truly hosed. After that there's really nothing you can do but try to get back to sleep. I was fine in the morning but that was an unpleasant night. And that was from half a second of exposure. I can't imagine prolonged exposure like theirs was any more pleasant.
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Sep 2, 2016 21:17
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CollegeCop posted:Many guns (including the one I am wearing right now) have tritium night sights. Radiation directly outside a tritium vial is lower than background, because the vial/object will block some of the background. The electrons from tritium decay will be stopped by the vial itself. Tritium vials work like CRTs. Electrons are released by decay or a particle accelerator, electrons hit a phosphor, phosphor glows a color. Electrons don't travel through things like glass or acrylic very well. So they're basically harmless to anything outside the container. Radium also uses phosphor to glow, but isn't contained, and is a lot scarier.
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Sep 3, 2016 01:34
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Get a sphinthariscope and you can watch atoms decay one‐by‐one.
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Sep 3, 2016 01:45
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Had an RSO instructor once proudly tell the story of a day (maybe working for the NRC, I forget) and someone managed to swallow some tritium (tritiated water?) while on a government job so they had to buy beer on the super strict government dime to do a body flush. He was a wild one. Gotta love that OSHA beer.
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Sep 3, 2016 04:59
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B!G_$W@NG@ posted:Gotta love that OSHA beer. 
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Sep 3, 2016 05:02
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Is beer really the quickest way to make you piss? I mean presumably it was the quickest option available and they were on a timer, but is there a better diuretic you'd use if you had it on standby?
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Sep 3, 2016 05:14
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