Oh ya....you have strontium 90 in those old watches who's hands glowed in
teh dark too!


"Bruce in Alaska" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(Larry W4CSC) wrote:

protected by a gas tube

That had a tiny bit of Strontium 90 in it to set a bias
for the Ionization of the T/R tube. Couldn't just toss
those Bad Boys in the trash, as they were a Radiation
Hazard if the were broke open.

Bruce in alaska
--
add a 2 before @

On Sat, 06 Mar 2004 14:12:13 GMT, "SB" wrote:

Oh ya....you have strontium 90 in those old watches who's hands glowed in
teh dark too!

Back in the 1960's, Moravia Central School (Moravia, NY) had an
NRC-licensed tiny Cobalt 60 source kept in the school safe in a
lead-lined box our physics teacher, Mr Dewey, used to use as a source
to irradiate all the Junior classes.

Mr Dewey was an old WW2 B-17 pilot who could tell us fascinated kids
some real war stories of bombers and Germany. He had the schrapnel
scars and Purple Hearts to prove it. The other fascinating thing he
had was his flyer's radium-dial wris****ch, which was so "hot" he had
to put it in the lead-lined box so you could detect the radiation from
the NRC-licensed Cobalt 60 source.

Mr Dewey died of old age, not from the burn spot on his wrist from the
Gamma rays coming through the back of that watch. His arm looked
slightly sunburned around the watch, but was still darker color right
through the back of it.....

I'll never forget all the great things he taught me in physics and
chemistry....over 40 years later.



Larry W4CSC
POWER is our friend!

"Larry W4CSC" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 06 Mar 2004 14:12:13 GMT, "SB" wrote:

Oh ya....you have strontium 90 in those old watches who's hands glowed in
teh dark too!

Back in the 1960's, Moravia Central School (Moravia, NY) had an
NRC-licensed tiny Cobalt 60 source kept in the school safe in a
lead-lined box our physics teacher, Mr Dewey, used to use as a source
to irradiate all the Junior classes.

Mr Dewey was an old WW2 B-17 pilot who could tell us fascinated kids
some real war stories of bombers and Germany. He had the schrapnel
scars and Purple Hearts to prove it. The other fascinating thing he
had was his flyer's radium-dial wris****ch, which was so "hot" he had
to put it in the lead-lined box so you could detect the radiation from
the NRC-licensed Cobalt 60 source.

Mr Dewey died of old age, not from the burn spot on his wrist from the
Gamma rays coming through the back of that watch. His arm looked
slightly sunburned around the watch, but was still darker color right
through the back of it.....

I'll never forget all the great things he taught me in physics and
chemistry....over 40 years later.



Larry W4CSC
POWER is our friend!


A quick overview of Radium dial-painting can be found at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~rogerr6/radiumdials.htm

And here's a set of pictures of luminescent products. Wow, glow-in-the-dark
buttons!
http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/r...uminescent.htm

Clearly, it was more hazardous to make these items than to use them.

Ed

Wow, I'm always amazed to hear stories from 'back in the day'.

The tools they gave us back in the day that we find today to have
been...well...not all that healthy.

Like the troops using depleted uranium shells....or the cops that didn't
think much when they set their radar guns in their laps!

sb

"Larry W4CSC" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 06 Mar 2004 14:12:13 GMT, "SB" wrote:

Oh ya....you have strontium 90 in those old watches who's hands glowed in
teh dark too!

Back in the 1960's, Moravia Central School (Moravia, NY) had an
NRC-licensed tiny Cobalt 60 source kept in the school safe in a
lead-lined box our physics teacher, Mr Dewey, used to use as a source
to irradiate all the Junior classes.

Mr Dewey was an old WW2 B-17 pilot who could tell us fascinated kids
some real war stories of bombers and Germany. He had the schrapnel
scars and Purple Hearts to prove it. The other fascinating thing he
had was his flyer's radium-dial wris****ch, which was so "hot" he had
to put it in the lead-lined box so you could detect the radiation from
the NRC-licensed Cobalt 60 source.

Mr Dewey died of old age, not from the burn spot on his wrist from the
Gamma rays coming through the back of that watch. His arm looked
slightly sunburned around the watch, but was still darker color right
through the back of it.....

I'll never forget all the great things he taught me in physics and
chemistry....over 40 years later.



Larry W4CSC
POWER is our friend!