> One has to wonder about this product. What is the energy source?
> Something that glows for 10 years can't be charged once and produce that
> much light for that long. I have to believe this uses a radioactive
> source and that's why it can't be exported.
................
>It uses Tritium, a radioisotope of Hydrogen (no, I'd never heard of it
>either, and I had the periodic table stuck in my head for 3 years at
>college). It releases a very small amount of =DF-rays (you don't wanna eat it
>but unlike gamma radiation it won't kill you just by being exposed to it)
>and thus as a radioactive material is very tightly controlled in terms of
>shipping and the like. My guess is the costs to get export licences to ship
>this kind of thing overseas is too much for them to want to bother.
>
>Ben.
................
>Tritium is use mostly for watch markers, which you can see at night.
>This is a replaced idea that during the early part of the last century
>after the original way was found to kill those who applied it. If you
>have an old watch with the old type glow, you can't get it repainted,
>they don't like to have that dust in the air. Okay sorry this isn't
>newton but hey since I was a watch repair person I figured I would share.
Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen, atomic number 3, with 2 neutrons and
one proton, and is used in the hydrogen bomb as well as for radioisotopic
labeling. Its a gas, so I'm unclear how this can be used as a watch
paint. It is heavily regulated, but is a soft beta emitter. Beta
particles do not penetrate paper well, so they are far less dangerous
than other radioisotopes. On the other hand, the old watches were
painted with radium, a very dangerous radioactive element with gamma
radiation and a long half life. The Radium Dial Company used to employ
hundreds of women to paint the watch dials at the beginning of the
twentieth century. Many got sick as a result. The site is still "hot"
and I'm not sure they know what to do with it.
Mark Ross
markr13_at_comcast.net
---------------------------------------
NuShields: Your best defense against screen damage
http://www.NuShield.com
Phone/Fax/Voicemail: (530) 678-5513
-- This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries List FAQ/Etiquette/Terms: http://www.newtontalk.net/faq.html Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Mon Dec 02 2002 - 22:03:21 EST