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In 1951 there was a children's U-238 Atomic Energy Lab playset for $50

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Re: In 1951 there was a children's U-238 Atomic Energy Lab playset for $50

#21

Post by bigohms »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #12
jpdoctor wrote: post #2

My grandfather worked for AC Gilbert, which made the Erector Set, and American Flyer trains. I had rather complete sets growing up, and couldn't figure out why my erector set and toy trains were so much better than everyone else's. But another toy was a lead casting kit: You would melt lead in a crucible, which would then pour into a mold. http://www.girdersandgears.com/kaster.html Never had the atomic energy kit, pr…

An official lead casting kit? That's pretty neat. I just pulled cells out of discarded car batteries that I found while playing on a construction site, and melted it in bottle caps over the kitchen stove. I cannot believe my parents let me do ANY of that. The joys of growing up in the USSR.

I remember collecting and playing with mercury from thermometers (here in the US), probably why I can't recite PI to anything more than 6 places :)

Re: In 1951 there was a children's U-238 Atomic Energy Lab playset for $50

#22

Post by CWuestefeld »

gonzo wrote: post #9
slavak wrote: post #7

Apparently the first half of the 20th century was fucking awesome [1]. [1] http://www.cracked.com/article_19481_the-8-most-wildly-irres...

I actually had the PowerMite tools. and several chemistry sets

I'd never heard of the lead molding set, but I did have a set for injection molding of plastic. And yes, I did burn myself.

Re: In 1951 there was a children's U-238 Atomic Energy Lab playset for $50

#23

Post by davidcuddeback »

jgrahamc wrote: post #10
slavak wrote: post #7

Apparently the first half of the 20th century was fucking awesome [1]. [1] http://www.cracked.com/article_19481_the-8-most-wildly-irres...

I'm from the second half and had some pretty cool chemistry sets as a child. I've noticed recently that all the chemistry sets are really rubbish now. Where's my strip to magnesium to set fire to?

Before 9/11, my little sister built a cloud chamber for the science fair. This required using a small vile of Uranium, which my dad was able to obtain for her from a nearby university. This didn't require any extraordinary connections or security clearance. I think he just phoned up a professor and drove to the university to meet him. This was probably 2000 or 2001. I suspect this wouldn't be possible now, after 9/11, but I haven't tried.

Re: In 1951 there was a children's U-238 Atomic Energy Lab playset for $50

#25

Post by joezydeco »

rhplus wrote: post #24

From a CPI calculator: $50 in 1951 has the same buying power as $435 in 2011. That's a heck of an expensive toy!

I thought the same thing, but then I realized it's not much different from a kid asking for a new videogame console on the launch date, including all the accessories. A tricked out PS3 would run you over $600.

Re: In 1951 there was a children's U-238 Atomic Energy Lab playset for $50

#26

Post by johno215 »

Lesser known fact. Most homes contain alpha radiation sources through their use in smoke detectors. http://www.epa.gov/radiation/sources/smoke_alarm.html

That being said, radiological material regulations are very strict these day. Back when I was working at a lab at school, I had to go through several days of safety courses before I could even be in the same room as some very weak alpha particle sources. The work I was doing did not utilize them, and the whole time the sources were locked in a cabinet.

It amazes me that this playset contained beta and gamma sources. Hopefully they were extremely weak; but still the radiation accumulates. (alpha particle sources are really only dangerous if ingested or inhaled, since outside the body, air shields against them)

Re: In 1951 there was a children's U-238 Atomic Energy Lab playset for $50

#27

Post by moylan »

i grew up with a copy of 'the boy electrician' that my father born in 1921 had. it showed how to build an xray machine from 'commonly available' parts. the only warning was a brief note that long exposure caused blood vessels to break which looked like bruising. though this warning is missing from the 1913 version. i do know that the plans were removed from later 1930ish versions.

i'd say that there were at least 1-2 other experiments that would be discouraged due to health and safety these days.

http://danielwebb.us/projects/pd_tech_books/

Re: In 1951 there was a children's U-238 Atomic Energy Lab playset for $50

#28

Post by DennisP »

bigohms wrote: post #20
pavel_lishin wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An official lead casting kit? That's pretty neat. I just pulled cells out of discarded car batteries that I found while playing on a construction site, and melted it in bottle caps over the kitchen stove. I cannot believe my parents let me do ANY of that. The joys of growing up in the USSR.

I remember collecting and playing with mercury from thermometers (here in the US), probably why I can't recite PI to anything more than 6 places :)

I did that too, and used to worry about it. Then I saw a video of a guy messing around with a giant tub of liquid mercury, talking about how it's not all that dangerous in that form.

Re: In 1951 there was a children's U-238 Atomic Energy Lab playset for $50

#29

Post by jgrahamc »

davidcuddeback wrote: post #23
jgrahamc wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm from the second half and had some pretty cool chemistry sets as a child. I've noticed recently that all the chemistry sets are really rubbish now. Where's my strip to magnesium to set fire to?

Before 9/11, my little sister built a cloud chamber for the science fair. This required using a small vile of Uranium, which my dad was able to obtain for her from a nearby university. This didn't require any extraordinary connections or security clearance. I think he just phoned up a professor and drove to the university to meet him. This was probably 2000 or 2001. I suspect this wouldn't be possible now, after 9/11…

Amazon.com sells Uranium ore: http://www.amazon.com/Images-SI-Inc-Uranium-Ore/dp/B000796XX... or get it from United Nuclear: http://unitednuclear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath...

Re: In 1951 there was a children's U-238 Atomic Energy Lab playset for $50

#30

Post by mikeash »

davidcuddeback wrote: post #23
jgrahamc wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm from the second half and had some pretty cool chemistry sets as a child. I've noticed recently that all the chemistry sets are really rubbish now. Where's my strip to magnesium to set fire to?

Before 9/11, my little sister built a cloud chamber for the science fair. This required using a small vile of Uranium, which my dad was able to obtain for her from a nearby university. This didn't require any extraordinary connections or security clearance. I think he just phoned up a professor and drove to the university to meet him. This was probably 2000 or 2001. I suspect this wouldn't be possible now, after 9/11…

You can buy uranium ore off Amazon. I'm not sure if it's the right stuff for a cloud chamber, but it looks like it:

http://www.amazon.com/Images-SI-Inc-Uranium-Ore/dp/B000796XX...

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