i want to make a closed spinthariscope 'tube' out of americium and silver doped zinc sulfide, to do this i am thinking of dissolving a smoke detector
button (or two) in conc hno3, Then putting the americium nitrate in a capillary tube (or any other thin glass tube) pre coated in zns:ag powder then
letting the americium nitrate dry (over p205 or calcium chloride), after that i will heat the nitrate till it ''turns'' into Americium(III) oxide.
is americium too dangerous to do chemistry with? i do have experience working with uranyl nitrate.
thanks in advance! bariumbromate - 5-12-2025 at 17:07
Sulaiman - 5-12-2025 at 19:39
from memory there is up to 300 ng of Am241 in a smoke alarm,
the capsule is commonly aluminium and the Am is sandwiched between silver and gold foils.
(it is a federal crime to disassemble an americium smoke alarm in usa)
the capsule is fairly safe to handle
but once a foil is pierced, or dissolved, take care!
the total brightness of a single Am capsule irradiating ZnS is so low that I need to dark-adapt my eyesight. bariumbromate - 5-12-2025 at 20:48
That’s why I was thinking of dissolving multiple buttons to increase the activity and therefore brightness.
I am using “ion chambers” that contain 20 something micro curies of americium, they are way cheaper then vintage smoke detectors,
I will post pictures when doneRadiums Lab - 5-12-2025 at 21:06
Why not use the sulfate salt? In the radium watches they use simalar sulfate of Ra.bariumbromate - 6-12-2025 at 02:02
That’s why I was thinking of dissolving multiple buttons to increase the activity and therefore brightness.
I am using “ion chambers” that contain 20 something micro curies of americium, they are way cheaper then vintage smoke detectors,
I will post pictures when donebnull - 6-12-2025 at 03:04
Why do I get the feeling that this is not a good idea?bariumbromate - 6-12-2025 at 03:46
Of course it's not a good idea... ITS A GREAT IDEA
All jokes aside i am taking safety VERY seriously, i've got 3 large containers to catch anything, several geiger counters, radiacode and pancake tube,
+ thick vinyl gloves that resist nitric acid.
and a fume hood.
i could use the sulfate salt but you can't evaporate off excess sulfuric acid.charley1957 - 6-12-2025 at 05:12
I do believe that the Americium in a smoke detector is not in metallic form, but is an oxide of Americium, usually AmO2. bariumbromate - 6-12-2025 at 11:08
apparently warm/hot nitric acid can dissolve americium dioxide i am going to try that firstRadiums Lab - 6-12-2025 at 14:43
Amarecium will be pretty hot because of it's half life. The daughter products are scary. Be careful!Sulaiman - 6-12-2025 at 17:58
the above post may not be explicit enough ....
although Am is primarily an alpha emitter,
the capsules that I've had, emitted significant quantities of penetrating ionising radiation, I assume mostly gamma.
so an americium lamp should not be near people for any significant length of time, (microseconds
it really should not exist at all - in my opinion.
Idea ....
you could make your lamp reasonably safe by completely encasing it in lead ........
(unless you drop the lamp on your feet)Metallophile - 6-12-2025 at 20:07
I thought Am241 was used in smoke detectors because it has very weak gamma emmisions, and its daughter Np237 has a half life over 2 million years. So
the daughter products further down the chain won't even come into play on human timescales.
[Edited on 12/7/2025 by Metallophile]bariumbromate - 7-12-2025 at 01:42
Wouldn't glass stop most of the alpha radiation? Plus isn't job of the zns:ag phosphor is to adsorb alpha radiation to be converted to light?
Before i dissolve the capsules i will first check their diameter, I may be able to get away with just slotting 1-2 capsules into the glass tube if the
diameter is small enough.
As mentioned in a previous post i am using ''ion chambers'' these were manufactured fairly recently so there are very little daughter products.Sulaiman - 10-12-2025 at 12:01
I thought Am241 was used in smoke detectors because it has very weak gamma emmisions, and ....
this is what
I thought, until I used an SBM20 based geiger counter near the OUTSIDE of an operating smoke alarm.
I am fairly confident that my x10 magnifying glass protected my eye from alpha and beta,
but I never checked the energy of the penetrating radiation.
@bariumbromate
I am still concerned that the quantity of Am241 required to make a lamp,
would constitute a significant hazard even if there is no highly ionising radiation,
which I fear there would be.
and
do you have storage and disposal plans
So, rather than assuming that you will be safe, check first !
(any member that does not have at least one fairly sensitive geiger counter should not be playing with radioactive sources)
Fulmen - 10-12-2025 at 12:21
While we mostly talk about the α and ß emmisions these are usually (always?) accompanied by some gamma emissions. For Am241 it is around 60keV which
is in the same range as used in medical X-rays. Radiums Lab - 10-12-2025 at 16:34
In Nurd Rage's radia code video he was able to show that Am emits beta too. Please rethink.
[Edited on 11-12-2025 by Radiums Lab]Radiums Lab - 10-12-2025 at 16:39
Get some Tritium tubes if you really want such lamps.bariumbromate - 10-12-2025 at 23:25
