From: "Erica VD Ginter" <eginter at klgai.com>
To: "'WSFA members'" <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Radiation meter
Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 16:16:39 -0400
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

Cool! Weak gamma sources are always welcome at Stately Ginter Manor, as long
as they follow the house rules. ;)

Erica

-----Original Message-----
From: Keith F. Lynch [mailto:kfl at keithlynch.net]
Sent: Friday, June 07, 2002 3:55 PM
To: WSFAlist at keithlynch.net
Subject: [WSFA] Radiation meter

As I promised Erica, I dug out my old radiation meter, and installed
a new D cell in it.  It seems to be operational, but I have no way to
test it.  I'll bring it to third Friday to test her radioactive cat.
I'll also bring the manual for that forty year old meter.  (Am I well
organized, or what?)

I looked up iodine 131.  It's a 900 KeV beta emitter with an eight
day half-life.  It decays into the non-radioactive chemically inert
gas Xenon 131.  Since the radiation meter is meant to only detect
gamma rays, it may not pick up anything.  It's hard to detect beta
rays, since they aren't very penetrating.  However, the meter is an
ionization detector, so it should be able to detect anything that
can make it through the case, even if it isn't a gamma ray.

Does anyone have a weak gamma source which I could use to test the
meter?  If so, and if Erica gives her permission, please consider
bringing it to third Friday so I can test my meter.  Thanks.
--
Keith F. Lynch - kfl at keithlynch.net - http://keithlynch.net/
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