This is a grab bag of ideas for further nuclear projects. These are two tritium phosphor coated tubes that glow in the dark permanently.
“Continue reading” for projects like a cloud chamber, spark detector and many others…
Polonium in cloud chamber Unfortunately it has decayed too much and not recognizable on my alpha viewing film. Need to measure counts but it has a 138 day half life and has run down, turned into radon and blown away… Counts done and activity down to 7.5% of normal. Hence 515 days or around 18 months old. See Polonium page.
Americium from a smoke detector in cloud chamber is still worthwhile and has plenty of alpha activity
Tritium tubes to pump a fluorescent plastic rod The fluorescent rod needs a UV to fluoresce. It is not a simple light pipe. I wasn’t thinking clearly. Green fluorescence is not the same as green phosphor.
Radioactivity readings are needed for the Tritium tubes. Done. Readings were taken and were about ten times background for 3 tubes.
A second Geiger counter as a coincidence detector. If they go off together then the same particle or shower caused it, ie a cosmic ray rather than local radon or other low power terrestrial source.
A stand-alone attachment for the Geiger counter to read radioactivity in the field without a laptop.
I would like to build a small Geiger counter using a small surplus tube and simple electronics.
Also a simple alpha detector which is a simple tube and simple electronics a bit similar to the original smoke detector. There are a number of simple nuclear projects to measure.
I want to make a better alpha spark detector. Thinner wire and better design are needed.
I want to test for x-ray production from my Tesla coil. My meter reads down to 7 keV x-rays and might pick up something.
Test my strontium for evidence of strontium – 90 beta emission. In a similar way to potassium and potassium – 40. Nothing was detectable.
I want to hook the Geiger counter into the world wide amateur monitors.
Will wrapping a Geiger counter in lead to reduce background radiation? No it doesn’t.
My radioluminescent watch face has a degraded phosphor. I wonder if it still lights up with an americium source.
I would like to take apart an old digital camera to try to use it as a spinthariscope with an americium source.
Inducing radioactivity. A radioactive rock made my Geiger counter read 20 times normal background. Irradiating other things may do the same. But which ones?
Set up my Geiger on a site full time reading background radiation as well as realtime to my site.
Explore a few other sources of minerals and elements
Test my counter on an x-ray machine (is supposed to register 7 keV)
Do something with my tritium tubes
Try to generate power from my uranium sample. Will it register on a photoelectric cell?, electrometer etc
Related pages
Try something else
External links
Photo Date: June 15, 2013