Yup, I've run across him a few times over the years. It's fun making cool things out of readily available stuff that no one realizes is right in front of them.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Naw, not a science teacher. Countless hours in classrooms (and numerous companies' makeshift classrooms) teaching adults computer and solar related subjects. Add to that a lifelong passion for movie making, science, building stuff and a few year stint as a solar contractor and you get my channel. Thanks to youtube for a way to combine it all! :)
Wow! I'm glad this video's going to get such practical use. Thanks for letting me know! And that's a clever practical use you've come up with. Interesting to see they're used in more than just smoke detectors.
Did a rigorous experiment this morning. I used a raw solar cell, no glass on it, one of many I bought years ago. I put one cell inside a box inside another box to make sure there was no light. One test was with the cell by itself. Another test was with five Americium pellets sitting on the cell, still in their housings as in my video but as you see from the spark gap, that works. Wires ran to the outside to a voltmeter on the mV scale. Identical 0.0002 to 0.0003mV for each. Oh well, it was fun.
I "use" Am241 in some of my electronic equipment as sealed source spark gap surge suppressors. I must provide safety training to my workers on an annual basis due the the radiological hazards associated with the sources. This video, although not directly representative, will give my people a better idea of the how and what of Am241. Thanks for the video!
Awesome video! The thing with the HV supply gives a visual demonstration on how smoke detectors work, when smoke gets between the electrodes on the americium sample it blocks the flow of current and trips the alarm. Wish I had not thrown my sample out now.
WIPP Electrical Flaw Nearly Left The Midwest Uninhabitable, And May Yet Still Your video describes precisely what happened at the Department Of Energy's WIPP site when it spewed Am241 and Pu239 directly into the electrical substation powering the facility. A single point failure design flaw which could have (and may still) make the Midwest uninhabitable
Our tubes are actually part of an AT&T system, so they get the credit for the clever use. They provide a nice low 60 volt surge proctection for sensitive equipment.
I think most of the spark's energy is still coming from the power supply, though the alpha particles are supplying some. Interesting thought. The minimum voltage is hard to say since the ionizing radiation is making the spark gap more conductive. I don't know if some alpha particles get through. I guess you'd need to set up a second spark gap somehow to see.
Thanks, and I agree! :) You know, what's bizarre is that I don't know the answer to that question. A quick search didn't turn up the answer either. I'll have to dig deeper.
I don't have any amorphous cells. The bi-metalic thing sounds interesting. The structure's probably more conducive to ionization - guessing. I'll certainly keep it in mind; it would be cool to do.
Good question. It's not the alpha particles themselves that cause damage. It's the fact that they're moving with great energy. They have enough energy when they collide with other atoms or molecules to liberate and electron, turning them into ions. The loss of the electron could even change the molecular bonds in the molecule, turning the molecule into some other molecule. The helium you inhale isn't energetic, it's not moving around fast like the helium we call alpha particles.
Yes, that's right. The alpha particles are helium atoms. The rate at which it emits them depends on the number of Americium atoms I guess. As the video said, the half life is 432.2 years. So if you have only 2 atoms, I think that means only one will be emitted in those 432.2 years i.e. half of the two atoms will have decayed. But my sample had a lot of atoms and from the sparks, I was getting more than one every second.
I'm pretty sure it wouldn't provide more energy to a solar cell than even dim room light and in fact I've already seen that this evening with a silicon cell. But it would be neat to see it working. The problem with the quick test I did so far was that the Americium pellet and it's housing blocked light, causing the cells output to go down. I'll have to rig it in darkness to see if it works.
I deleted my previous answer to 1. Here's my thinking, probably what you're thinking too. Shorter gap is more sensitive, longer gap is less sensitive. Lower voltage is less sensitive, longer gap is more sensitive. So they balance each other out. And thanks! It's a failure if no one learns anything, so your feedback helps.
Very interesting. I'm not exactly sure how a geiger counter works, but I think it's a similar principle (ionization of air). Might be an interesting (if similar) video to build one.
I can't say for sure what would happen. There are no electrons being emitted as with thermionic emission or a strong electric field but maybe when the energetic alpha particles collide with the atoms at the tip of the alligator clip they'll cause electrons to be released into the vacuum which would gradually make a conductive path and then an arc could form. But as I said, I don't know that for fact.
My understanding is the amount of energy needed for an alpha particle to liberate an electron from an atom is at least partly due to what other atoms as interacting with it. The atoms in air _probably_ require less energy than the atoms in a doped silicon crystal. I suppose the atoms themselves, nitrogen and oxygen versus silicon, play a part but I'm less sure of that.
fadi butris I wouldn't worry too much about the dangers for two reasons: 1) The alpha particles as stated in this video are completely blocked by the insides of the smoke detector and don't pose much of a threat as long as the source is kept outside of the body. 2) The risk of getting cancer from the gamma rays is insignificant to worry about due to the small amount of material; the dose is comparative to the small dose we get from the cosmic rays and gamma rays we get from the background radiation we're natually exposed to. Our bodies can tolerate such low doses.
Interesting point. I don't agree fully in that I show that alpha radiation, at least consists of the emitting of alpha particles and gamma rays and I talk about half-life. The weak force is the force holding the nucleus together, so that's not radiation. The question is what makes the weak force fail and result in radiation. I've never seen an answer for that, other than probability. But if you have some guidance as to where I can find out the details of why radiation happens, I'd like to know.
Maybe amorphous cells ? I've also seen a tutorial on high grade uranium can produce a current through a bi mettle device, Wonder if this could work with Americium or another lower grade radioactive material. I know you got better things to do but as a alternative energy junky without the proper math and science skills I'm so fascinated by this subject and its importance towards humanity.
Excellent explanation. Thank you!. Could you please let me know what would be the safe distance for well logging ,If I use AM-214 BE of 16 CI? or how does the safe distance calculation work for Americium 241.
Thanks! Unfortunately, I don't know what you mean by "well logging". A google search shows something for mapping geological formations but since this barely penetrates paper, I don't think it will help you with that.
Great video as usual Rimstar :) I was curious about aznngg's question as well and realized that the answer stems back to the probabilistic nature of radioactive decay/half-life. Perhaps all the nuclei in the Americium COULD emit an alpha particle spontaneously, and it's just a highly unlikely event? However, I likewise found nothing in my readings that conclusively said force X and Y are responsible for maintaining stability in other unstable, non-emitting nuclei within the Americium.
(1:53) *Correction:* Normal atmospheric gas is _not_ 100% oxygen, but instead a varying 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other gasses, depending upon the environment. The air is generally uncharged, though.
Thanks. I can't recall exactly what I was thinking when I scripted that, though I was well aware that air contains more than just oxygen. Perhaps that's why I said each atom of air rather than saying specifically oxygen. However, I can see why since I showed only an oxygen atom, you might get the idea I was saying that air contained only oxygen. Others might have the same interpretation so thanks for bringing it up.
@@RimstarOrg is it possible that the N2 molecule is harder to ionize because of its triple bond? However, I have bought a sample of Am and a geiger counter for smartphone. It gets a discrete measure with my 50-80 mg pieces of Th and U sealed in ampoules, but with the exposed Am piece directly on the sensor, there's nothing more than the backgroung. I know it doesn't detect alpha, but is it normal to get nothing if it works with the other two elements?
I don't know about N2 ionization. A quick search for thorium shows it does decay by giving off alpha particles en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium but also a quick search shows that uranium gives off beta particles en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium I guess maybe your sample of americium gives off even less than thorium, too little for your geiger counter. That's all just quick guessing on my part.
Can you get energy from the sparks? How low of a voltage does it have to be for the sparks to happen? Do the sparks cancel out the radiation that it gives out? If so would something radiated be fixed if inoized or electrictuted? How will one know that the radiation part of the detector is?
I understand. I tried to send a link to a cool and inexpensive UV water purifier for hiking but the link would not send. I also came across a HHO discussion board talking about the same subject though they were just using UV and not X rays.
Part 2 I imagine a sheet of amorphous covered by a sheet of Americium then rolled into a battery like cylinder. Or layers of alternating sheets made into a stacked square cell. And if this has any problems could it work with other combinations of solar cells and different types of radioactive material.
Very good video again! I learned a lot. That same sparking sound in proper geiger meters is very intriguing. Is there any difference in sensitivity or other features if we use the borderline of 1. Shorter gap and lower voltage 2. Longer gap and higher voltage?
The americium pellet from the smoke detector is supposed to be safe to handle with your hands, as long as you don't get it into your body. But I wouldn't touch it anyway, just to be extra safe.
alpha radiation is safe as it won't penetrate the skin but would not open the case. Glad I didn't as I didn't know about it emitting gamma rays as well which can pass through into your body and is dangerous.
John Bump So what was the correct answer for which one you'd swallow? I've always read you don't want to swallow alphas. Putting an alpha in your pocket might be okay. It's said that holding it in your hand is okay since the skin will block the emitted particle and the outer layer of your skin is made up of dead skin cells anyway. Though from the experiment I did in this video I have to wonder if skin really would block it. Great summary, by the way. Thanks.
My idea started when I first heard that x rays and UV's can also produce HHO so how about combining all or any combination of these to increase the HHO output. what if the HHO cathode and or anodes were coated with Americium then bombarded with x or UV to increase the alpha particles and gamma rays could would this increase the HHO ? I suppose the ideas and variables are endless and likely have have been thought of before. But then maybe not.
I could understand that. If your willing to experiment with some of the others I tried to send a link of these very cool battery operated and relatively cheap UV water purifiers for hiking but it wont let me send the link. I also found a HHO forum pertaining to the subject so it looks like I'm not the only one thinking about this. Though they were talking about using UV and didn't mention X rays that I hear can work.
Rimstar. Why does the spark not remain active once struck (with or without the ionizing radiation). Wouldn't it also ionize the air gap or is it pulsed somehow? Enjoy your videos? So much to learn. So little time.
Good question. The spark happens after charge has built up enough on both electrodes on either side of the gap. One side builds up with extra electrons, making that side negatively charged, and the other side with less and less electrons, making it positively charged. During the spark, the extra electrons rush to the positive side, making both sides neutral. That means we're back to no extra electrons on one side and no lack of electrons on the other. The process of adding extra electrons to one side and removing electrons from the other side starts again. It takes time until they've built up enough negative and positive charge so the spark can happen again. It sounds like you're comparing the spark to igniting a flame. With a candle flame, for example, once there's enough heat available the wax is an ever present fuel source that's always available in the quantity needed to keep the flame going.
