Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Radioisotope Identification

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neptunium - 27-12-2015 at 14:17

This one also needs a pre amplifier ...I hate seing good equipment go to waste though..

IrC - 27-12-2015 at 17:34

So do I, and I kept this in hopes of one day using it but never looked into it due to other things always taking up my time. Not until I started looking at your posts did I dig it out of storage and look into it. Even a good used preamp is around a thousand and then I need an MCA and so on. Too much for a hobby unless I win the lottery.

Got any good numbers I can try?

neptunium - 28-12-2015 at 05:41

Ha!! Yeah sure let me try if i hit it first!

IrC - 13-1-2016 at 22:12

Don't know if you have looked into the following links before. If not then maybe it is something interesting to study while waiting for those numbers.

http://www.gammaspectacular.com/software-downloads/theremino...

http://www.theremino.com/downloads/radioactivity

http://www.theremino.com/en/downloads/multimedia

http://www.theremino.com/technical/schematics

http://www.theremino.com/blog/gamma-spectrometry

Velzee - 8-2-2016 at 06:14

So, fifteen bucks, huh?

neptunium - 16-2-2016 at 16:45

Naw don't worry about the charge

neptunium - 25-2-2016 at 10:21

Velzee send me his sample for a look at the gamma spectrum,
I`ve received it today and after a quick look it seem to be a weak uranium ore named coffinite.
I placed it in the spectrometer and obtained this very classic spectrum for Uranium with some Thorium isotopes a little over 10 minutes of acquisition (633sec) gives a rate of 120c/s so given its geometry maybe a bit less than 300bq which is consistent with a similar size sample of coffinite I analyzed earlier.



NY sample.bmp - 2.9MB
Ac228 is a daughter of Thorium 232 but is a lot more active than other isotopes from natural U238 and shows up better with a gamma spectrometer like the one I use.
It is easy to see the comparison with a known sample of Uranium ore (coffinite) their is no mistake.


coffinite.bmp - 2.9MB

Although Velzee's sample might contain a little more Thorium .

If you have such samples in your backyard I would start digging immediately! there is some money to be made the Uranium ore samples sale pretty good on ebay!

chemrox - 25-2-2016 at 14:02

The US west coast is being hit with isotopes from Fukushima. This is a potential concern for milk producers; Sr 90 for example. I would like to help those producers who are diligent enough and share the concerns of their customers. Not all of them are. Witness the past reactions to hormone issues. The ones that give a shit should be rewarded. I live and play near the coastal town of Tillamook. Nice airport.. good mushrooms.. Tillamook is a major producer of dairy products. Consider collaborating with me on environmental services to the producers and cow farmers. And/or we could focus on the customers. I know a health food seller that might be convinced to test hi products for rads. I would like to get beyond gamma counting and be able to say what and how much. Then we could develop health care reports. We should explore whether there are certifications we could qualify for and advertise.

j_sum1 - 25-2-2016 at 14:48

Good thinking chemrox.

neptunium - 1-3-2016 at 15:44

Chemrox if you reside in the west coast and have such sample with a noticeable activity .may I suggest sending me one for gamma spectrum?
If I may I don't believe the Fukushima disaster has much of an impact on anything a few hot spots here and there are hardly cause for alarm. Besides, radiological survey are conducted dayli by many different government and independent lab. If anything hit the fan trust that someone somewhere will ring the bell much like the Flint water pollution. It may take a while but after 5 years still nothing....

neptunium - 10-5-2018 at 07:35

Quote: Originally posted by chemrox  
The US west coast is being hit with isotopes from Fukushima. This is a potential concern for milk producers; Sr 90 for example. I would like to help those producers who are diligent enough and share the concerns of their customers. Not all of them are. Witness the past reactions to hormone issues. The ones that give a shit should be rewarded. I live and play near the coastal town of Tillamook. Nice airport.. good mushrooms.. Tillamook is a major producer of dairy products. Consider collaborating with me on environmental services to the producers and cow farmers. And/or we could focus on the customers. I know a health food seller that might be convinced to test hi products for rads. I would like to get beyond gamma counting and be able to say what and how much. Then we could develop health care reports. We should explore whether there are certifications we could qualify for and advertise.



sounds good to me ! i can only detect gamma and x rays but i have been looking into fixing an alpha spectrometer. The sample prep is a bit tricky though.
Also for Sr90 a beta scintillation spectrometer is necessary. i do not have one ...yet... but i would gladly accept money to set one up . I`ve always wanted to do carbon dating...
As for most of us here time and money are badly needed!

neptunium - 26-5-2018 at 17:47

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm_S0w13ovQ&t=3s

neptunium - 7-8-2019 at 06:42

Oh boy its been a while ! not much happened here I see...
Well i got around to analyze some Trinitite and rather than start a lengthy post i rather share my findings on a video...
enjoy!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZZyZODI-_8


[Edited on 7-8-2019 by neptunium]

Fluorite - 13-11-2020 at 16:37

WOa I think detecting elements is amazing! this is so helpful like you can know if 0% Cd Hg battery has any Cd Hg or you can also detect mercury in Tuna! Cody's lab did a vid

neptunium - 2-11-2021 at 10:34

been working on more videos i hope you`ll enjoy some of my new equipment,
I have to apologize for my absence for so long...
I dont see much activity on here since i last commented so it looks like i have not missed much ..
Fluorite here is an improvement on the low level mercury in tuna i made ... yes it`s almost 2 years old now sorry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LRfPt3txjc

pantone159 - 2-11-2021 at 18:43

Awesome, I just watched the trinitite video. I want to get a gamma spectrometer someday but I haven't managed yet. I liked the suggestion by one commenter to use single pieces for analysis so the composition is more consistent. But actually dating the event experimentally would be cool. Maybe individual pieces would give a better date. Is there any possibility of detecting 96-Cm or higher? That would be extra cool as those elements are not very collectible.

neptunium - 3-11-2021 at 03:05

Unfortunately I no longer work in this lab. But I have my own mass spec now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC-Kj7fhpNg
and part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwvoU3SLtYY&t=10s
and the lab i work at has the newest of the newest .. the 5000...which i recently check to mass 250 and i dont see why i could not get it a bit higher.

chemrox - 21-1-2022 at 20:01

I need equipment capable of assessing fallout from Fukishima hitting the west coast of the US. Cheap is good. I'm looking for low concentrations of ?

neptunium - 24-1-2022 at 16:16

Quote: Originally posted by chemrox  
I need equipment capable of assessing fallout from Fukishima hitting the west coast of the US. Cheap is good. I'm looking for low concentrations of ?


Cesium 137. peak at 662Kev but you won`t find much. maybe a fraction of becquerel and THAT requires expensive equipment .
Sr90 perhaps but about half is already gone and a different type of equipment (also not cheap) is needed. Either one, to be honest, after 11 years of weather and radiological decay, If you find anything, that would be a fluke, incredible luck, vastly expensive project, an error, or a lie.
Just my opinion but of course i could be totally wrong



[Edited on 25-1-2022 by neptunium]
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