Spinthariscope

A spinthariscope is a device for observing individual nuclear disintegrations caused by the interaction of ionizing radiation with a phosphor (see radioluminescence) or scintillator.

A low quality toy spinthariscope taken from a 1950s Chemcraft brand "Atomic energy" chemistry experimentation set

Invention

The spinthariscope was invented by William Crookes in 1903.[1][2] While observing the apparently uniform fluorescence on a zinc sulfide screen created by the radioactive emissions (mostly alpha radiation) of a sample of radium bromide, he spilled some of the sample, and, owing to its extreme rarity and cost, he was eager to find and recover it.[3] Upon inspecting the zinc sulfide screen under a microscope, he noticed separate flashes of light created by individual alpha particle collisions with the screen. Crookes took his discovery a step further and invented a device specifically intended to view these scintillations. It consisted of a small screen coated with zinc sulfide affixed to the end of a tube, with a tiny amount of radium salt suspended a short distance from the screen and a lens on the other end of the tube for viewing the screen. Crookes named his device from Greek σπινθήρ (spinth´ēr) "spark".

Toy spinthariscopes

Spinthariscopes were quickly replaced with more accurate and quantitative devices for measuring radiation in scientific experiments, but enjoyed a modest revival in the mid 20th century as children's educational toys.[4] In 1947, Kix cereal offered a Lone Ranger atomic bomb ring in exchange for a box top and 0.15 USD that contained a small one.[5][6][7] Spinthariscopes can still be bought today as instructional novelties, but they now use americium or thorium.

  • A spinthariscope plays a pivotal role in the Rick Brant book The Blue Ghost Mystery.
  • The spinthariscope is mentioned on page 1703 in Burnham's Celestial Handbook by Robert Burnham Jr..
gollark: I duckduckwent it.
gollark: So osmarks.tk uses osmarksuuids, which are just v4 UUIDs.
gollark: I pointed out that sequential numbers were obviously a bad idea, because of, among other things, speed of light delays, and the difficulty of synchronizing the count everywhere, and that UUIDs were better.
gollark: In a philosophy club thing at school, someone was talking about some sort of dystopian world where people were assigned numbers instead of names or something.
gollark: Your osmarksUUID, if you're curious, is `36d29cdb-55dd-4217-b371-67c0d578a639`.

References
  1. Crookes, W. Certain Properties of the Emanations of Radium. Chemical News; Vol. 87:241; 1903.
  2. Frame, Paul W. "The Crookes Spinthariscope". Oak Ridge Associated Universities. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  3. Alfred Romer (1960). The Restless Atom: The Awakening of Nuclear Physics. Anchor Books. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  4. Bonnier Corporation (June 2007). Popular Science. Bonnier Corporation. pp. 86–. ISSN 0161-7370. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  5. Reif, Rita. ARTS/ARTIFACTS; Trivia Long Ago, Serious Treasures Now. The New York Times. 11 June 1995.
  6. Miklós, Vincze (15 January 2014). "The Terrifying Age of Radioactive Toys for Kids" – via Gizmodo.
  7. "Lone Ranger Atom Bomb Ring Spinthariscope (1947 - early 1950s)". 5 October 2011 – via Oak Ridge Associated Universities.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.