Dirty Clocks. (radioactive).

[ColinTheAmpMan1]

Originally Posted by HamishBoxer

Radion gas I believe you mean Colin. Pretty deadly.

You are right, although a typo crept in. I was talking about Radon, which results from the radioactive decay of Radium, Uranium and Thorium on their way to Lead. The most stable isotope is Radon 222 (half-life 3.8 days, alpha emitter of 5.5MeV). It comes about because granite contains Radium 226, which is a precursor. It is an odourless, tasteless gas and a member of the "noble" gases. Despite its fairly short half-life, it can, being a gas, build up in confined places such as cellars. Also being a gas, it can be breathed in easily. Hence its particular danger.

Nevertheless, my comments about the effects of Radon on the Cornish poulation stand.

It also seems that I was wrong about Americium 241 in smoke detectors; most of them have it, but the plastic of the casing, together with the surrounding air, is a sufficient barrier as the alpha particles have low penetrative power. However, these smoke detectors should be disposed of properly due to the small amount of Americium 241 within.

Colin.

[paulsherwin]

Almost all old domestic smoke detectors end up in landfill, but the tiny amounts of americium are so diluted by the rest of the domestic waste that the radiation just merges with natural background sources like radon. Presumably the same thing happens when detectors find their way into municipal incinerators.

[Glowing Bits!]

Are you lot trying to tell me it's no longer safe to keep a first world war compass on a shelf about 1 metre from my pillow in the bedroom?
If you must know, the glass is cracked, the oil has long gone, it does glow quite brightly when exposed to a light source.
Should I move it somewhere else?
If you want to scare someone, it's working!