On 9/13/2010 9:33 PM, ian_6500 wrote: > Hi Everyone, > > I'm in the market for 5092-style tubes, but ones without radioactive > material in them. I read through many of the threads here and I know > some are of the opinion that there's no danger with the thorium or the > krypton, but I just assume avoid that material all the same. (Messing > around with anything that is or supposedly was radioactive seems like > a bit of an undue risk for my hobby.)
Here's a shock for you: Potassium is radioactive, and there's a fair amount of it in bananas... enough so that they are used as a means by which to show the amount of radiation leaked by reactors. Plus, every day you'll experience maybe 10-40 times the amount of radioactivity just by being alive (or, dare I say, standing next to a few crates of bananas) than by dealing with a few (nee a /wall/ of) 5092's sitting on your desk for a lifetime. As well, hate to say it Krypton is used in: Neon signage (it gives a nice blue glow) Halogen bulbs (Again, nice incandecent blue glow) MRI machines High speed camera flashes Arc discharg lamps Spark-gap assemblies Nixie tbues Cold Cathode voltage regulators > So, I need to buy four to six 5092-style tubes and I'm wondering what > models to search for that don't have radioactive material? Do the > Russian IN-4's and IN-1's have the radioactive material? Do all > Burroughs tubes? I'd go search through Dieter's nixie gallery until you find a nice top-loading one that you like. As anyone who's been on the list for a few years will know, I asked the same questions you are when I got a few B5092's. 85kr is used in /some/ nixies as a means to make neon ignition go faster. When I queried my chemistry teacher at the time (who was head of Dow chemical for years) he offered this basic explanation: - Neon and Xenon like being in daylight because they're bouncing around. - 85kr couldn't give a damn. When HV goes across the anode grid of the nixie, a sympathetic reaction must occur. Either the Neon that's nearest the filament that has the ground ignites, therefore glowing, or it /sits there/. Once its going though, its A-OK. In the day time, the Neon doesn't have a problem igniting, because there's actively photons heating up the glass just a little. However, when its dark around the bulb, the neon doesn't like to rapidly come up. Instead, it will wait until things have warmed up a little. the 85kr supplies a little bit of kick for the neon to get out of bed, so to speak. Once HV goes accross the 85Kr, it springs into action and emits photons, just enough to make the Neon start going. Think of it like a cup of warm coffee and a bat to the head for the Neon. All in all, the 85kr, being a beta emitter, will not /hurt/ you ( in fact, its half life is 10 years or so) > And by the way, if I buy some Russian or Polish tubes (I have a set of > IN-2's) how do I tell if they have the radioactive material? I > understand that the American tubes are stamped with a radioactive > symbol. (The ones I have glow orange and not pink.) Any thoughts > would be great! Geiger counter? -- Morgan Gangwere >> Why? > Because it breaks the logical flow of conversation, plus makes messages unreadable. >>> Top-Posting is evil.
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