On Sat, 2002-11-23 at 08:22, Mark Ross wrote:
>
> 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. Notice how cryptic the
> explanations get when they write about the "special gas" and yet are very
> specific about everything else.
When I was - like the song says - much younger than before, and studying
in the UK, where Traser-UK is based, it seems, we had these things
called "beta-lights". They were a small amount of a weak alpha emitter
and a phosphorescent substance. I recall that light switches and the
knobs of light-pulls had them so they could be found in the dark. Was
this different from the 'radium' (not radium as pitchblende) that was
used on the hands of watches years ago? I don't know.
This I do know. They were safe. I wondered about them so I borrowed a
Geiger counter from the university lab. Even at the most sensitive,
these things were undetectable. Alpha particles, if you recall, can be
stopped by a sheet of paper. Playing with that G-counter aught me a
lot. In particular that there is more radioactivity given off by stone
memorials and building and gravestones than driving by a nuclear power
plant. I'd hate to live on the hill in Edinburgh!
I haven't seen Beta-lights in North America, but then NA's seem more
paranoid about radioactivity than Europeans. Perhaps its because there
are more sources of energy - hydro, sunpower etc - in NA. Just
speculation, but look at the comparative cost of energy across the
Atlantic.
/anton
-- It is against the grain of modern education to teach children to program. What fun is there in making plans, acquiring discipline in organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail, and learning to be self-critical? -- Alan Perlis-- 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