A sea of sparks: Seeing radioactivity(maurycyz.com)
57 pointsby maurycyz9 hours ago6 comments
  • DoctorOetker3 hours ago
    I was hoping this would be an artists project page describing the passive imaging of radiation (i.e. not a simple X-ray scan).

    Imagine a planar array where each pixel gathers counts like an MCA (multichannel analyzer), mounted in some lead pinhole camera obscura.

    This would give an extremely wide range of channels didactically illustrating the presence of calcium in gypsum (dryboard etc), visually show backscatter, etc.

    Such pictures of modern and old city scenes would be mesmerizing to watch, partially seeing into buildings, the ground, ...

    • defrost26 minutes ago
      Takes a while to do an entire continent this way, luckily when you start in the 1970s it's all over by now.

      * https://www.ga.gov.au/bigobj/GA13928.pdf

      * https://www.ga.gov.au/bigobj/GA18007.pdf

      Visualising full 256 channel multispectral data can be tricky, the approach taken above was to take the raw data and process it to create a false colour RGB image representing the strength and interaction between natural background potassium, thorium, and uranium.

    • jareklupinski2 hours ago
      currently trying to make a flip-dot display (think https://theartistbreakfast.com/works/spectral-flashbacks-ser...) but with some kind of radiation detector behind each pixel that will flip the dot when something passes through

      i made a small 3x3 proof of concept using more expensive geiger tubes, and their really long 'z-axis' lengths made 'traces' happen very often, like a persistent cloud chamber

      trying to find a reliable semiconductor (read:cheaper) method i can scale to an arbitrary number of pixels, but something seems to happen in between the bench and the wall :(

  • r2_pilot8 hours ago
    If you haven't experienced a spinthariscope, I can highly recommend it. I bought one as a Christmas present for a buddy and we both enjoy its demonstration of radioactivity.
    • jcims6 hours ago
      UnitedNuclear has these and a bunch of other interesting tidbits if anyone wants to give it a try. I bought a small bottle of heavy water as well, which I of course sampled and can confirm it has a slightly sweet taste to it.

      You really have to get your eyes adjusted to the dark to see anything with the spinthariscope. It ends up looking mostly like static on a green crt, but if your only reference frame is a cloud chamber, the volume of particles that are emitted from such a weak source is pretty remarkable.

  • cbm-vic-208 hours ago
    Don't miss a chance to see the Cherenkov radiation effect at your local research reactor.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation

  • lukasschwab8 hours ago
    You won't make one at home, but cloud chambers[^1] reveal individual alpha particle tracks.

    There's one in the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris — blew my mind!

    [^1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_chamber

    Edit: turns out people make these at home all the time. Sick!

    • Yenrabbit8 hours ago
      You can easily make them at home (source, I did last weekend!).

      - Dry ice (mine came from something shipped cold)

      - Dark piece of metal (I used a 3D printer hot bed) on top of dry ice to get cold

      - IPA vapour (I poured some on a shop towel)

      - Some transparent container to house it all - I found a glass display cube on the side of the road, fish tanks or Tupperware also work.

      - Torch or something to provide side lighting

      Very cool to see evidence of the particles zooming around us, can highly recommend.

    • alnwlsn8 hours ago
      This can be done at home with a little effort. Less effort if you can get dry ice easily.

      https://hackaday.com/2019/01/13/see-the-radioactive-world-wi...

    • lukan8 hours ago
      Well, google for "DIY cloud chamber" did result in quite some entries. Apart from youtube channels, with the first entry a guide from CERN:

      https://home.cern/news/news/experiments/how-make-your-own-cl...

  • anfractuosity7 hours ago
    https://dberard.com/home-built-stm/ shows individual atoms.
  • dvh9 hours ago
    I tried the same with bananas. Got nothing.
    • thadt8 hours ago
      Bananas are like XML that way. If you're not getting the results you want, you're just not using enough of them.
    • kergonath8 hours ago
      Potassium-40 is not an alpha emitter.
      • fecal_henge8 hours ago
        Maybe he used banana as the scintillator.
      • DetroitThrow8 hours ago
        That's unrelated. He's been diligently substituting bananas in many experiments to mostly disappointment.
        • marginalia_nu7 hours ago
          The banhattan project has been a fiasco.

          Chicago Peel 1 accomplished fission of fruit flies, which we felt was promising.

          The subsequent banana nuclear bomb tests have been an unmitigated disaster. There are so many damn bananas in and around the bikini atolls, just nothing. Not even a fizzle. Mojave is littered with peels. Oppenheimer slipped and broke his leg.

          Rumors are the Soviets are using avocados. Maybe that is the key. We are now constructing a demon core from an avocado split lengthwise.

          • selimthegrim6 hours ago
            This puts Raffi in a whole new light. Also maybe the Banana ball team are refugee all-stars.
        • onraglanroad7 hours ago
          ...but occasional delight.