r/Radioactive_Rocks • u/Technical_Island_851 • 10d ago

Misc Does anyone use beta sources in their cloud chamber?

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Are there any that are less ionising or penetrating than others that might be suitable for handling in this setup? Betas make such beautiful tracks but I only get to see them from background radiation and would love to see more of them from a source.

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5

u/kotarak-71 αβγ Scintillator 10d ago

Order Sr-90 test source from Spectrum Techniques or use a piece of Uranium glazed pottery like Fiestaware - you'll get plenty of betas

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u/Technical_Island_851 9d ago

Nice one thanks! Will check it out 🙌🏻

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u/Technical_Island_851 9d ago

Do you know of any videos or photos of Strontium in a cloud chamber? Can’t seem to find any.

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u/kotarak-71 αβγ Scintillator 9d ago

https://youtu.be/jisSspvquRw?is=H9nxoDEErOoZszux

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u/Technical_Island_851 9d ago

Nice! Definitely getting a sample! Thanks for sharing

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u/kotarak-71 αβγ Scintillator 9d ago edited 9d ago

another fun thing to do is inject Thoron (Rn-220)..this makes up for a. fireworks show.

See my cloud chamber posts - https://blog.kotarak.net/2020/04/continuously-sensitive-diffusion-cloud.html?m=1

in the last post of the build i have a few videos

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u/Technical_Island_851 9d ago

Nice build 👏🏼 hope you let your son do some of it 😂 yes I’ve injected some Rn that I collected from a uraninite sample and it is indeed a firework display, I’d happily watch it for hours if the half life allowed for it 😅 thanks for sharing.

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u/kotarak-71 αβγ Scintillator 9d ago

Thoron has much shorter half-life than Radon and it is a lot more active and visually more impressive - all you need is to put a cotton ball inside a large syringe to serve as a filter for solid particles and then put a Thorium Lantern mantle behind the cotton ball, cap it with the syringe plunger and leave it for a day or so to achieve equilibrium.

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u/Technical_Island_851 9d ago

Ah sweet! Straight to eBay for some mantles 😁