# Is some moron playing with a radiation source? (Russian translation needed.) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 26, 2024, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-some-moron-playing-with-a-radiation-source-russian-translation-needed/1002084 "2024-05-26T04:46:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-some-moron-playing-with-a-radiation-source-russian-translation-needed/1002084/1 "2024-05-26T04:46:58Z")
Someone is trying to sell them on Facebook. Can light lights and shut down cell phones. [![](https://i.postimg.cc/0jF8HCKZ/FB-IMG-1716698211811.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/0jF8HCKZ/FB-IMG-1716698211811.jpg) [![](https://i.postimg.cc/PqTdcJNG/FB-IMG-1716698220168.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/PqTdcJNG/FB-IMG-1716698220168.jpg) [![](https://i.postimg.cc/9QGWJZmt/FB-IMG-1716698236797.jpg) ](https://i.postimg.cc/9QGWJZmt/FB-IMG-1716698236797.jpg) > **[Official Weird Second Hand Finds That Need To Be Shared Page | Anybody know...](https://www.facebook.com/groups/454814441971724/permalink/1609632346489922/?ref=share&mibextid=NOb6eG)** > > Anybody know what it is? Some kind of magnetic battery? > Tubular shaped with "russa CCCP 1983" engraved, I can see some liquid through the glass hole > The owner posted a video and this shi\* really can... ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-some-moron-playing-with-a-radiation-source-russian-translation-needed/1002084/2 "2024-05-26T09:58:09Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Someone is trying to sell them So, scam. If you actually ordered it, it would be full of pinball machine parts. I do not see any Russian anywhere BTW. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2024, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-some-moron-playing-with-a-radiation-source-russian-translation-needed/1002084/3 "2024-05-26T12:19:49Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I do not see any Russian anywhere BTW. The taller cylinder in the first picture has writing on it that’s either Greek or Cyrillic, but it’s tough to make out with the reflections. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-some-moron-playing-with-a-radiation-source-russian-translation-needed/1002084/4 "2024-05-26T12:54:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The taller cylinder in the first picture has writing on it that’s either Greek or Cyrillic, but it’s tough to make out with the reflections. In one of the other pictures you see one of the cylinders marked “1983 CCCP”, which indicates a Soviet origin (CCCP being the Cyrillic spelling of SSSR, the Russian acronym for the Soviet Union). Also, another cylinder has the Soviet star logo on it. I’d say it either has a Soviet background, or was faked by someone who wants to dupe people into believing this. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-some-moron-playing-with-a-radiation-source-russian-translation-needed/1002084/5 "2024-05-26T13:03:40Z")
CCCP and 1983 I see too, but the rest is not Russian that I can see. It is not Greek either, it looks like gibberish. There is a Ѳ, which is not a cyrillic letter, though it can be the numeral 9. I have asked my wife, who speaks Russian, and she was not very patient. Mixing CCCP and RU (for Russia?) on the same lid is unusual. Crap. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2024, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-some-moron-playing-with-a-radiation-source-russian-translation-needed/1002084/6 "2024-05-26T15:54:23Z")
If there really is liquid inside it could be aqueous uranyl fluoride. We had a small reactor powered by it at the Lewis Research Center in Cleveland. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2024, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-some-moron-playing-with-a-radiation-source-russian-translation-needed/1002084/7 "2024-05-26T16:07:38Z")
What makes me wonder is that the writing is inconsistent, with varying letter sizes. I’d think that, if this were a real, well, anything, that the lettering would be put on through some sort of stamping or other consistent process, not hand-lettered with a handheld engraving tool or something. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-some-moron-playing-with-a-radiation-source-russian-translation-needed/1002084/8 "2024-05-26T16:19:02Z")
Really. It looks spaced and sized as if it were written on a pyramid wall. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-some-moron-playing-with-a-radiation-source-russian-translation-needed/1002084/9 "2024-05-26T16:37:14Z")
Red mercury is mentioned in the comments. I’d never heard of that before, but it looks like this is a fresh attempt at that scam. > **[Red mercury](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_mercury)** > > Red mercury is a discredited substance, most likely a hoax perpetrated by con artists who sought to take advantage of gullible buyers on the black market for arms. These con artists described it as a substance used in the creation of nuclear weapons; because of the secrecy surrounding nuclear weapons development, it is difficult to disprove their claims completely. However, all samples of alleged "red mercury" analyzed in the public literature have proven to be well-known, common substances Re... ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-some-moron-playing-with-a-radiation-source-russian-translation-needed/1002084/10 "2024-06-02T18:53:10Z")
One of the letters engraved in the left cylinder (in the first photo) is an “S”. That is not a Cyrillic letter. The mentions to Red Mercury (which is a known hoax) make me think that this is a con.