Death Plants and Radiation A experiment with uranium marbles

[SelkitFox]

Er, I should clarify my earlier comment regarding point #3; Take your soil from the same source, as a homogenous mixture, not share your control's soil bed with your variable group's soil bed. That would kinda defeat the purpose. Better yet, go hydroponic or aeroponic to rule out micro-organisms in the soil altogether and focus on the subject at hand in a more controlled environment.

[SelkitFox]

Here's a few suggestions for improving the experiment;

1) Repeat with cuttings from a plant that can reproduce by cuttings. Genetically identical. Use at least ten plants; Five control, five variable-group.

2) Find an optimal measure of water, then stick to it.

3) Plant them in the same soil-bath, to rule out different micro-organism cultures

4) Use only artificial lighting at a pre-determined optimal level.

These steps should weed out unwanted variables and refine the experiment.

[RaduBiscuite]

song please!

[bombikid]

are they really made of uranium??? I thought they were fluorescent plastic balls.

[willavr]

@bombikid They are glass with +/- 2% U238 (DU) oxide. The DU causes a green color, especially under UV light.

[DreamPharaoh]

It would be interesting if you were able to get some of the sunflowers from around Chernobyl that have the radiation eating extremophile-bacteria on them and extract the bacteria through culture and use it on irradiated plants and see if some mutation effects are negated. Strange idea but I was interested to see the abilities of this bacteria for maybe helping exposed victims.

[sharpezor]

what what would happen with a marijuana plant

[musubi69]

Eat the marbles and tell me what happens

[Squaky1]

these only put out less than 200CPM. the only way these would be remotely dangerous is if you crushed up the marbles and snorted them. even then, it's not near enough to harm a plant in any way. you should get some ore(10,000cpm or better) and crush it up, then mix in soil. you just waisted your time doing this. oh and this funny was super shitty. had no idea what you were doing. you gave no directions. it was just a bunch of pictures of a dumb plant then at the end you put marbles by it. dumb

[metalini]

You'd have better luck crushing the uranium ore (i got one free when i ordered the marbles) into a fine dust and mixing it with the soil.

[vmelkon]

@metalini Wouldn't it kill the plant because uranium is toxic? If you need something that emits intense radiation, then you need something with a short half-life and perhaps 100 grams of it. Perhaps a chunk of radium 226 or polonium 210.

[valdezmiguel2]

breetings, faithful student of the scientific artistry. I have a simmilar idea, in which I insert americanium doped schipls into the soild of a tree. have you considered the rate of atomic condensation? I am thinking it will be a significant factor, given the flow of the arctic pine's resin in the sub-tropical taiga. ADVIC>E>?!?!? TIPS?!?!?!? DANGEROUS?!?!

[scrfce123]

600 CPM is a tiny amount. Isotopes of Potassium that occur in the human body decay at a rate of 4000CPM. Therefore, it is doubtful that this particular sample will be harmful to any biological life. Also, the sample is an alpha emitter, which means that its penetration can in some circumstances, be limited by air alone. The cuticle and first few layers of the plant's cell tissue would be more than enough to block alpha particles. Finally, plants aren't particularly susceptible to mutation...

[rclvb]

hi..

good experiment i tried it also with the marbles but then found out that the uranium doped marbles arent very radioactive so i tried it with some uranium ore and it worked better try it youll see.

good vid

[PageRob]

Instead of pedestaling the marbles on golf tees away from the plant, I would have put them right up against the stem of the plant. Remember that the further away from the source you get, the lower the count is. Do you have a Geiger counter so you can measure the dose that the plant is getting? If you know the r/m, at the end of the experiment you could determine what the overall dose to the plant was.

[teenagezombieone]

You do realise that the uranium glass marbles are less radioactive than many types of granite and clay right? They are barely even detectable with most Geiger counters, far too weak to cause mutations.

[pixman83]

Spamming is only one of the things that trolls can do, but your friend wilsonpwt is a prime example of this type of troll based on his desire to constantly post things that have no relation to what is currently being discussed. People on threads for a year and largely stay on topic aren't trolls.

I say you're a troll because you argue rather than debate, you deliberately incite conflict, don't respond to content, habitually lie, are unable to admit fault, can't go a day without insults, etc.

[DURound]

He is mentally ill.

[pixman83]

I don't think you are insane, I think you are just a plain old ordinary internet troll.

[pixman83]

If you had read about it so much, and have such a good memory now, why did none of that show up exposure show up in your initial post?

[pixman83]

Yet what you say doesn't match what you have posted previously.

1. Your 1st post makes no mention of how long ago you saw it, but mention it frequently once errors show up.

2. Your refutation of the flaws I pointed out contain multiple assertions that weren't reported by anyone.

3. You say you have a URL, yet read about it in a doctor's office.

4. You have yet to admit to making a mistake at all.

5. You think bringing more, and better, information to the conversation is a personal attack.

[pixman83]

The article was written in 1994, so how you read it "about 20 years ago" is beyond me.

Not recalling things correctly is just a mistake, which is why my post contained further information, a link, and a few corrections. There was NOTHING negative in my comment, yet you have taken this very personally.

In one post you try to say that you should be forgiven for making a mistake, reject the possibility of making an error, and call those pointing out your error liars. Doesn't make sense to me.

[pixman83]

He didn't even get close to enrichment. He didn't isolate any isotopes, he barely even got the elements he wanted let alone the isotopes.

Not only didn't Readers Digest report that he made a bomb, nobody else did either. Further proof of your BS is that a comparison to Iran wouldn't have been made in 1994.

I'd like to point out that I was merely expanding on your own comment with more information, and directly addressing the fallacies in your statement. There literally were no assumptions.

[DURound]

You are babbling incoherently now.

[DURound]

I note that with your Tiny URL link \:

tinyurlDOTcom/lqmktk

You again lie. There is no article there saying he built an atomic bomb or came close.

It is part of your pathology to lie.

[DURound]

You have not given dozens of sources. This is another lie you tell.

[DURound]

Yes, you say untrue things all the time.

Another lie you told "I am a scientist"

But I think you have a mental illness and this is part of the condition.

[DURound]

I am convinced you are mentally ill.

[DURound]

Uh huh. You accuse me of lying yet you have been caught red-handed saying things that were untrue... and claim "I did not recall". One lie follows another.

[DURound]

Reader's digest did not report that he build an atom bomb nor did they report anything related to where he was and Iran.

The Reader's Digest article is the main one posted on the internet. Here is one posting of it:

tinyurl(dot)com/nq4597

[pixman83]

He didn't "move a fair degree towards enrichment."

It wasn't reported that he "built an atom bomb but not quite that far advanced."

He was nowhere close to "not much off where Iran is at now albeit on a small scale"

So what was it that you were right about again?

You also didn't admit that you could barely recall the details.

If those aren't false assertions, they are certainly gross exaggerations. It isn't desperation, its called using facts to correct the false impressions made by others.

[DURound]

I do not understand what it is that you imagine I have done to you, that you feel so hateful.

[DURound]

There is a great web site by a chick who rides around on a motorcylce doing just that to by the way. With a geiger counter.

===

Please post the youtube friendly URL.

[DURound]

Get out!  Really? He enriched Uranium in his shed?

That's HARD to do.

[pixman83]

Ah, yes. The "Tale of the Radioactive Boy Scout" from Harper's Magazine (tinyurlDOTcom/d2re). The truly funny thing about this is that they made a movie abut it.

PS. He got nowhere NEAR actual uranium enrichment or making a bomb, and Iran has gone SIGNIFICANTLY further than he ever got.

[amethyst8teen]

This definitely isn't the healthiest obsession, but I think the danger (though so minute it's practically non-existent at the moment) only adds to it's appeal. As for Marie Curie, she live to her 60's and died of aplastic anemia, no doubt due to radiation exposure, but she was processing tons and tons of radioactive ore, I don't think I'm anywhere near the danger threshold yet. I'm still trying to find carnotite in the local mountains, and who's the chick, i'd like to read about her work.

[amethyst8teen]

If you're referring to the radioactive boyscout by Ken Silverstein, then yes I have read it and draw much inspiration from it. I think if I was going to do that I would use a more remote location and put a little more effort into shielding and containment, by that kid was a true visionary.

[DURound]

I just read about David Hahn.

I think he probably has killed himself with radiation poisoning. Look him up. You can see his radiation sick face on the net.

Maybe he was a visionary. Maybe he is insane.

[pixman83]

Given that he is still alive he obviously hasn't killed himself yet, though it looks like he is heading in that direction.

In all seriousness, I'd put him closer to insane than visionary.

[DURound]

Where are the update videos?

[amethyst8teen]

I've also considered milling uranium ore into a fine powder and adding it to the soil or a hydroponic solution, first to see if the plant absorbs the Uranium, I mean how cool would it be to have a radioactive plant? I think it would be a crown jewel to my radiation collection. Anyways, then I would monitor for mutation. This would solve the problem of alpha particles not actually being able to penetrate into the plant.

[amethyst8teen]

A uranyl tricarbonate solution would probably work too.

[DURound]

I think you are likely to see no effects or you are likely to see the plant die.

[amethyst8teen]

Probably, but you never know, you might see some galls form or something. I'm still gonna to it to try and produce a radioactive plant.

[pixman83]

Darn. I was hoping we'd see it mutate into a giant plant Godzilla analogue (Plantzilla, Aureumzilla, etc.) that we could use to take over the world. Because that would be cool!

On the other hand, some people might think such a thing is actually possible. :)

[DURound]

Little shop of horrors.

[amethyst8teen]

I think that was a plant from space... lol

[amethyst8teen]

If only it were possible. Oh well, I'd be happy if so much as a gall appeared.

[Anon4427]

To improve the experiment you need to do three things:

-Have a second plant and use uranium free marbles in the same configuration. This is your control.

-Get someone else to tend to the plants, do not inform them which has the uranium marbles. This will prevent bias in the care the plants receive.

-Repeat the experiment several times.

[amethyst8teen]

To achieve the improve the experiment I would take several cuttings all off of one plant so the genetic makeup of all the test subjects and controls are the same. I've thought about trying this with a fiesta ware plate, which is significantly more more radioactive.

[amethyst8teen]

And better yet, get identical marbles, one set radioactive and the other not, and have someone else know which is which, so you can record your observations in an unbiased single-blind setting.

[Muzikcurezdapain]

hey, i just have an idea to throw out. i plan on trying this some time soon. what if you radioactivley charge a plant directley with radiation but in a small dose and then add an electrical current to that which is the exact atomic mass and number to sunlight being added (possibly a plasma simulator). whould that make it so the plant could possibly sustain all normal features while grouwing at a normal rate? just privatley msg me if you have any idea. and please, do not steal it.

[zelkuta]

umm... could please clarify? I am so confused with what your trying to say.

[scilonthreat]

lol

[metalini]

@Muzikcurezdapain

youre not making much sense. you're talking about exposing a plant to radiation (im guessing alpha rays?) and then charging it with an electrical current. But the current has to have the same atomic mass? That doesnt compute. You're talking about apples and oranges like theyre the same. Plants need UV radiation absorbed through their leaves so they can have normal breakdown of nutrients and proper function.

[saintveil]

@metalini - There a a lot of interesting plant battery (earth battery) videos on youtube. 1.7 volts output and powering step up circuits to over 1KV to power florescent bulbs and strings of hundreds of LEDs. Professor Dr Stiffler calls it "near infinite lighting".

[msnakias]

@Muzikcurezdapain test it out. maybe a nobel prize is waiting for you

[brainburrito]

I hope you had a control plant too. =D Neato idea, though.

[voidengineer]

I imagine your results are mostly due to the soil being sterilized of beneficial organisms.

[magicstix0r]

@voidengineer 600CPM isn't going to sterilize anything.

[cyanide444]

There is no proof that that is radiation induced. Uranium is a largely alpha particle material. Alpha radiation cannot even penetrate paper.

[scilonthreat]

I'm not getting the purpose of this. Nothing will happen.

[13zedna12]

id get a stonger source, then get seeds from that plant whatever and then see what happens to the next line

[IHAntonio]

Hello Zelkuta, dont waste your time. Youre not going to get anything from this because the radiation from such low source is almost nothing. You may be able to get anything with a source of +20mR/h

[IHAntonio]

Hello Zelkuta, dont waste your time. Youre not going to get anything from this because the radiation from such low source is almost nothing. You may be able to get anything with a source of +20mR/h