Fun with a Geiger counter

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I am a huge sucker for gadgets, and it occurred to me I was missing one of the big ones, a Geiger counter. So I got a basic one from amazon, and have been watching it for 30 minutes or so. CPM of 12-17 at my desk, so apparently I am indeed, just getting fat, and not becoming the incredible Hulk.

I also put it as close as possible to the old Accutron watch my dad wore, which has glowing radium dials , and it spiked all the way to 25 CPM.

And yes, I have no Bananas( or Brazil nuts )to test at the moment.

2

Which one and how much?

3

This one

I have no expectations of it being professional caliber :slight_smile:

4

I keep meaning to buy one to measure my exposure during flights between Michigan and Japan. The flight path goes across southern Alaska - not truly transpolar (which reportedly gives a pretty good dude of cosmic rays), but pretty close.

5

I should correct and say the watch “had” glowing radium dials, it has done no glowing in the ~15 years I have had it.

6

All the young dudes have the best cosmic rays.

7

I prefer T. Rex

8

in 2010, I had a Nuclear stress test. When I got back home, I was curious if my tiny hobbiest-kit Geiger counter was sensitive enough to pick up the radiation from the Technetium-99m they use (it’s a gamma emitter).

(Turn your speakers up)
Download link, since apparently embedded videos aren’t supported

9

I understand this is not because the radioactive source has decayed to the point of being too faint to cause a glow, but rather the fluorescent paint has worn off or faded.

10

Visit your local Antique Store.
Our ancestors were reckless with radioactives.
Who knows?
You might find something interesting.

11

Now try a cinder-block building.

12

Just test everything in your house before you use it:

Nothing else in that thread about geiger counters. :slight_smile:

13

Now you can find your waitress!

Tom Waits reference…

14

Various types of old pottery and glass are radioactive.

15

Marble, granite, and some types of bricks are also radioactive.

And ceramic tiles, since they are made out of similar materials.

Do you have any carrots or potatoes?

16

Everything is radioactive. Some things more than others.

17

Heh, I got the reference immediately.