Uranium Glass • Hacker News Board

Re: Uranium Glass

#11

Post by datameta » Tue, Oct 26, 2021, 12:58 PM UTC

Brendinooo wrote: post #9

tokai wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No its uranium.

Is this glass dangerous then?

> ... can register above background radiation on a sufficiently sensitive Geiger counter, although most pieces of uranium glass are considered to be harmless and only negligibly radioactive.

Re: Uranium Glass

#12

Post by dotancohen » Tue, Oct 26, 2021, 1:01 PM UTC

Brendinooo wrote: post #3

Interesting. The uranium is stable, right?

Stable compared to U-235? Yes. Stable compared to Carbon 13? No.

Re: Uranium Glass

#13

Post by Brendinooo » Tue, Oct 26, 2021, 1:01 PM UTC

datameta wrote: post #11

Brendinooo wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this glass dangerous then?

> ... can register above background radiation on a sufficiently sensitive Geiger counter, although most pieces of uranium glass are considered to be harmless and only negligibly radioactive.

Missed that. Thanks.

Re: Uranium Glass

#14

Post by datameta » Tue, Oct 26, 2021, 1:02 PM UTC

Turns out the UV-A from black lights in not entirely safe. Can cause wrinkles and skin cancer log term as well as short and long term damage to eyes. I'm glad I haven't used mine since college.

Re: Uranium Glass

#15

Post by user-the-name » Tue, Oct 26, 2021, 1:16 PM UTC

bocytron wrote: post #6

Oh, is that where the iconic radioactive green color comes from?

No, that is more from the association of radioactivity with radium paint, which is a mixture of radium and a phosphor, similar to glow-in-the-dark paint. The radium will keep the phosphor "charged" so that the paint will keep glowing without having to be exposed to a light source.

Re: Uranium Glass

#16

Post by gabrielblack » Tue, Oct 26, 2021, 1:17 PM UTC

I have some marbles and a crucifix ( that kind you hang on a wall) made of this material. I inherited them from my grandmother , the marbles was intended to be toys. The crucifix also is visible in the dark and it's the object with major emissions, but nothing dramatic. The marbles emit mostly alpha rays. Both can excite notably my Geiger counter, but, storing them in a metallic box, (i.e. that sheet metal box for biscuits ), no emission leaks. I'm using the marble in my DIY random number generator, based on a Geiger tube and an Arduino board.

Re: Uranium Glass

#17

Post by psanford » Tue, Oct 26, 2021, 1:28 PM UTC

After buying a MightyOhm geiger counter kit[0], I needed something to test it with. Uranium glass ended up being one of the cheapest things you can buy that will register above the background radiation level.

[0]: https://mightyohm.com/blog/products/geiger-counter/

Re: Uranium Glass

#18

Post by mr_toad » Tue, Oct 26, 2021, 1:50 PM UTC

Brendinooo wrote: post #3

Interesting. The uranium is stable, right?

Uranium has no stable isotopes, although natural isotopes have a half life of billions of years.

Re: Uranium Glass

#19

Post by sacado2 » Tue, Oct 26, 2021, 1:52 PM UTC

gabrielblack wrote: post #16

I have some marbles and a crucifix ( that kind you hang on a wall) made of this material. I inherited them from my grandmother , the marbles was intended to be toys. The crucifix also is visible in the dark and it's the object with major emissions, but nothing dramatic. The marbles emit mostly alpha rays. Both can excite notably my Geiger counter, but, storing them in a metallic box, (i.e. that sheet metal box for bi…

> I'm using the marble in my DIY random number generator, based on a Geiger tube and an Arduino board.

This is so nerdish, I love it!

Re: Uranium Glass

#20

Post by hutrdvnj » Tue, Oct 26, 2021, 1:58 PM UTC

gabrielblack wrote: post #16

I have some marbles and a crucifix ( that kind you hang on a wall) made of this material. I inherited them from my grandmother , the marbles was intended to be toys. The crucifix also is visible in the dark and it's the object with major emissions, but nothing dramatic. The marbles emit mostly alpha rays. Both can excite notably my Geiger counter, but, storing them in a metallic box, (i.e. that sheet metal box for bi…

Couldn't you just measure background radiation?