# Fun with a Geiger counter **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 8, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399 "2023-04-08T22:22:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/1 "2023-04-08T22:22:25Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/2 "2023-04-08T22:49:03Z")
Which one and how much? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/3 "2023-04-08T23:06:51Z")
This one > **[GQ GMC-320S Digital Nuclear Radiation Detector Monitor Meter Geiger Counter...](https://www.amazon.com/GQ-GMC-320S-Radiation-Detector-Dosimeter/dp/B0B53Z675M)** > > GQ GMC-320S Digital Nuclear Radiation Detector Monitor Meter Geiger Counter Radiation Dosimeter: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific I have no expectations of it being professional caliber 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/4 "2023-04-09T00:13:29Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/5 "2023-04-09T00:53:05Z")
I should correct and say the watch “had” glowing radium dials, it has done no glowing in the ~15 years I have had it. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/6 "2023-04-09T01:34:36Z")
All the young dudes have the best cosmic rays. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/7 "2023-04-09T01:48:24Z")
I prefer T. Rex ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/8 "2023-04-09T02:14:48Z")
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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technetium-99m) they use (it’s a gamma emitter). (Turn your speakers up) [Download link, since apparently embedded videos aren’t supported](https://imgur.com/8Fefoet) ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/9 "2023-04-09T02:15:30Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I should correct and say the watch “had” glowing radium dials, it has done no glowing in the ~15 years I have had it. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/10 "2023-04-09T12:16:32Z")
Visit your local Antique Store. Our ancestors were reckless with radioactives. Who knows? You might find something interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/11 "2023-04-09T12:34:50Z")
Now try a cinder-block building. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/12 "2023-04-09T12:40:25Z")
Just test everything in your house before you use it: > [@No one has anything to say for an MMP?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-has-anything-to-say-for-an-mmp/971428/202): > > Have you ever woken up from a dream and just lay there a while trying to decide if the thing you were dreaming about had any basis in fact? This morning I finally decided that no, if there really were radioactive items in the house, I wouldn’t have just kept testing them with a geiger counter each time I wanted to use them. Nothing else in that thread about geiger counters. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/13 "2023-04-09T13:39:07Z")
Now you can find your waitress! Tom Waits reference… ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/14 "2023-04-09T16:32:41Z")
Various types of old pottery and glass are radioactive. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/15 "2023-04-09T16:52:44Z")
Marble, granite, and some types of bricks are also radioactive. > [@mixdenny](#): > > Various types of old pottery And ceramic tiles, since they are made out of similar materials. > [@wolfman](#): > > And yes, I have no Bananas( or Brazil nuts )to test at the moment Do you have any carrots or potatoes? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/16 "2023-04-10T01:10:09Z")
Everything is radioactive. Some things more than others. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-a-geiger-counter/982399/17 "2023-04-10T14:51:52Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Now you can find your waitress! Heh, I got the reference immediately.