Observations
  • Home
  • Observations
  • Trendcasting
  • Odds 'n Ends
  • Science/Technology/Experiments
  • Mental Health

Radioactive Glass...

5/25/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Glass has been manufactured for generations, and in fact, radioactive glass was known as far back as 79 A.D. The earliest examples were found in tiles in early Roman cities. But, there is nothing to fear as the radioactivity is just barely above that of background radiation. 
From the mid 1850’s until the 1940’s, uranium glass was manufactured and sold as both decorative and food glassware. The source of the uranium, mostly in the form of oxides, became unavailable as the US entered into the cold war when making bombs was more of a priority than making dishes. Uranium glass can be anywhere between a light yellow to green, depending on the oxidation state of the metal ions. The tube in the photos is one that I have and is about three inches long and is a standard color of uranium glass. Some glass may also have other colorants. The most typical color is that of the tube in the above left photo and is almost the color of Vaseline, which is one of the names applied to this fascinating glass. But, the most significant feature of uranium glass is that it fluoresces under the influence of ultraviolet (black light) as in photo on the right.
There is a great site with some nice examples of uranium glass. You can see them on the WebEcoist site here.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2021
    September 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    August 2019
    December 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    All
    Bird Feed
    B & W Photography
    Candle Soot
    Chipmunk
    Chipmunk And The Puzzle Box
    Clothespin
    Contact Lens
    Containers
    Daisy
    Detergents
    E. Coli
    Fda
    Fluorescence
    Gardening
    Habitrail
    Halloween
    Herbs And Spices
    Herb Update
    Honeysuckle
    Hunting
    Insect Trap
    Large Pest
    Last Crops
    Light Bulb
    Mirai Corn
    Neon
    Odds
    Oplalescent Eggs
    Opossum
    Ouija Board
    Patent #1
    Patent #4
    Privacy
    San Francisco Earthquake
    Spider Frame
    Squirrel Buster
    Tea
    Trolls
    Window Herbs
    Wpclipart
    Youth's Companion