From: m35products (m35prod@optonline.net)
Date: Fri Oct 10 2003 - 20:23:06 PDT
There are many instances of electronic components containing trace amounts
of radioactive material to enhance the operation and efficiency of the
component. For instance, certain vacuum tubes contain beta-particle
emitters. The common neon pilot light on your Sears multiple outlet strip
has a tiny bead of radioactive material to make the pilot light last longer.
There is probably a government regulation that states that any amount is
sufficient to be reportable, or labelled.
By the way, here's a neat science experiment:
Take an elderly power strip or light switch that has a neon pilot, but is
getting weak and flickery. In a dark room, watch the light as you turn on a
small flashlight. The pilot will suddenly get brighter, and stop flickering.
That's because the photons (electrons) from the flashlight are helping the
weakened neon gas to ionize. The manufacturer puts a tiny amount of
radioactive stuff inside the pilot light, as a source of photons, to
accomplish the same thing.
Thank you, Mr. Science.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Buck & Rami Sharp" <bls@inebraska.com>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2003 10:34 PM
Subject: Re: [MV] RADIOACTIVE stenciled on S250
> hope your little smokey dont fall off or you grow any weird extra body
parts
> maby they hauled stuff around in it that wasnt that big of a deal unless
it
> got set off like a small bomb? just guessing hope its not still
radioactive
> is there any other numbers on it that could lead to an explination to what
> it was used for??
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bruce Beattie" <bruce@eecs.berkeley.edu>
> To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
> Sent: Friday, October 10, 2003 9:31 PM
> Subject: [MV] RADIOACTIVE stenciled on S250
>
>
> > I have a very nice S250. The radios were taken out, but the condition
> > inside and out
> > is almost like new. In fact, I dought if it ever saw any duty at all. I
> > have had it for
> > about 4 years now, and although I knew there was some stenciled letters
> > on the back,
> > they had been sprayed over by DRMO so I never really paid that much
> > attention to it.
> > I was more interested in setting it up as a camper.
> >
> > One day a complete stranger walks by and asks what it is, and I tell
> > him it's a Radio
> > Teletype, and then have to explain what that is. Then he asks me why
> > there is this
> > stenciled on letters 1 inch high that spells RADIOACTIVE? I snapped
> > around and duh,
> > there it is hiding under a few splotches of spray paint, but none the
> > less quite ledgible.
> >
> > Any idea what was going on with this unit that they would put that
> > on it?
> >
> > The irony of this whole thing is that Bezerkeley is one of those places
> > that has declared
> > themselves a nuclear free zone. I never did understand that either,
> > since I never met a
> > bomb that could read and obey instructions from the ground.
> >
> > So there is your Friday night puzzle.
> >
> > Bruce MVPA 23824 (Starting to glow in the dark)
> >
> >
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> >
>
>
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