What's In The Box??? ...Radium Switches!

I received a box of surplus single pole double throw switches which turned out to be tipped with radium. I am checking the radioactivity at each step in opening the box, and bag of switches. Some of the switches are much hotter radiologically than others. Some are not radioactive at all.

Subsequent to this video, I measured each switch (in the plastic baggie), and they range from around 1500 to 3000 CPM each on the Inspector. Out of the baggie, and about 1cm from the pancake probe the readings ranged from about 10K to 12K CPM, lots of alpha. Quite a difference.

Geiger counters used are a Russian Kvarts DRSB-01, a GeoElectronics LENi Pro, and a Medcom Inspector Alert.

Recorded on a Canon FS-11 camcorder.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• CD
• V-700
• LENi
• Medcom
• SEI
• Inspector
• Canon
• FS-11
• geiger
• counter
• radium
• radiation

[modifiedcarmaniac]

Is that radiation strong enough to damage your health?

[mkrubsack]

@modifiedcarmaniac No, not at all.

[modifiedcarmaniac]

@mkrubsack And for how many years would they stay radioactive?, I don't know a lot about radioactivity but I'm interested in it!

[mkrubsack]

@modifiedcarmaniac Research the term "half-life."

Radium (Ra) has 25 different known isotopes, four of which are found in nature, are all generated naturally in the decay of either Uranium (U) or Thorium (Th). 226Ra is a product of 238U decay, and is the longest-lived isotope of radium with a half-life of 1601 years; next longest is 228Ra, a product of 232Th breakdown, with a half-life of 5.75 years.

[modifiedcarmaniac]

@mkrubsack Thanks, you really know what your on about!

[antiprotons]

Great video! I just bought the CRM-100, a lighter version of the inspector. Good stuff!

[KarbineKyle]

Awesome! I have those same model switches, 6 of them, and they are the exact same ones I have! That's Awesome! The ones I have came out of an old Pullman Train Car. Mine are momentary, but the markings on the switches I have say "CH" on top. On the bottom; MADE IN U.S.A. PATENT NO. 1605910; left; 5A. 125V.A.C. 35A. 25V. That's what my switches read, but they don't have numbers painted on the side like yours do. Are yours similar? Interesting! The beads on tip do give of a lot of radiation! 5/5!

[civildefensecollectr]

I built a LENi using my old anton electronics model 5

[mkrubsack]

These were a gift to me from a friend who found them in a garage sale. At this time, I am keeping all of them. I will be putting up a new video, part 2, of these switches.

[mkrubsack]

I think it was just picking up some radiation from the switches. George at GeoElectronics calibrated it using (I believe) a Ludlum 500-2 pulser about 2 years ago. I haven't touched the calibration, and it should still be fairly accurate. It has an internal pancake probe on the bottom of the case. You can see the BNC cable/jumper going from the top to the bottom/rear side where the pancake probe jack is located. The Leni Pro is a nice machine.