Living With Radiation: The First Hundred Years 2020 update

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Carl Willis
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Living With Radiation: The First Hundred Years 2020 update

Post by Carl Willis »

Frame, Paul and William Kolb. "Living With Radiation: The First Hundred Years." Syntec, Inc. 2002.

Price: $36.00 (Directly from Bill Kolb via PayPal; see below link to order.)
http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTab ... ation.html

The science hobbyist often has a use for radioactive materials. Perhaps you want some radium for a cloud chamber or spinthariscope. Maybe you need some uranium metal to replicate the Hahn-Strassman experiment. Maybe you just want some gamma ray sources to calibrate a spectroscopy system. You might think that, in this age of strict regulations, dirty bomb fears, and "Big Brother" Ashcroft, you're flat out of luck!!

It so happens that we are all in luck. The hot stuff is out there--and so is a book that will tell you exactly what to look for when seeking out radioactive items. "Living With Radiation: The First Hundred Years," by Bill Kolb and Paul Frame, is THE definitive, amazingly thorough and detailed guide to radioactive consumer products, antiques, quack medical devices, military and industrial items, minerals, and even foods. If radioactivity interests you, this book IS A MUST-HAVE!!

---This book is unique. Nothing else ever published even remotely compares.
---The info is modern, and updated continuously by the authors.
---You will see photos of many of the items described in the text, making for easy on-sight recognition at flea markets or antique malls.
---Information about the activity of, or the dose rates associated with, an item, are provided.
---Regardless of your level of experience with radioactivity, you will be amazed at what is out there. Sources of radioactive material from nanocuries to multiple curies are described in this book.

Aside from its content describing the myriad of radioactive items that are available, the book also provides a one-stop reference of useful information about radioactivity. This includes: conversion factors (dose, activity, etc.); regulations on owning and shipping radioactives; an overview of radiation detection and measurement; recipes for uranium toners and pottery glazes, among much else. I use the tables of radioactive vacuum tubes (by number) and radioactive military items quite a lot.

The book, through its examples, tells the fascinating history of our society's love-hate relationship with radiation. There was a time--not long ago!--when people actually bought uranium-ore comforters that were "guaranteed to be radioactive," and stuffed millicurie radium sources into their underwear to stimulate their "glands."

So buy this book, grab a Geiger counter, hit the flea markets!

-Carl Willis
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Richard Hull
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Re: Living With Radiation: The First Hundred Years

Post by Richard Hull »

Thanks Carl for the fine book review! Your thoughts follow my own on this totally unique text. There is, indeed no equivalent on planet earth to this valuable tome.

See also my review here at

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=8070#p57486


Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
JerryCBlack
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Re: Living With Radiation: The First Hundred Years

Post by JerryCBlack »

Want rock samples, here is one site.

http://www.atomicrocks.com
raneyt
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FROM RANEY-Living With Radiation: The First Hundred Years

Post by raneyt »

Guys,

Yes, it's a great book. Richard Hull put me on to it. I even got an autographed copy from Bill Kolb (a great guy, by the way) in exhange for making him a six-gap series spark gap for his electromagnetic ring launcher.

Anyway, a great piece of work & excellent addition to any technical library.

Warm Regards,

TIM
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Carl Willis
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Re: Living With Radiation: The First Hundred Years

Post by Carl Willis »

Hi Jerry,

Atomic Rocks is run by a great guy out in Arizona, Frank Kimbler. Mel Stairs is also an excellent source for uranium ore specimens (on eBay: "rockgod," or info@rocksaroundtheclock.com). Bob Lazar's company United Nuclear sells ore.

I have specimens as well, tending to be from the Lisbon Valley area of Utah and from Grants, NM. However, I don't want to directly compete with the guys who make a living off of uranium sales, so I don't peddle it on eBay. Anyone who wants a piece of uranium ore for their own purposes (not for resale on eBay, for instance) can let me know, particularly if Mel or Frank are out of stock.

-Carl
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Richard Hull
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Re: Living With Radiation: The First Hundred Years

Post by Richard Hull »

This is the 2020 update written by Bill Kolb about his book with current info and prices

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The many ordinary and remarkable uses of radiation in military, commercial, and consumer products over the past century are chronicled in the book, “Living with Radiation: The First 100 Years,” to preserve this vanishing history. While most of the products are no longer made, they sometimes turn up in attics, yard sales, war surplus bins, antique shows, estate sales, flea markets, and the Internet. Some of these products still contain substantial amounts of radium or other radioactive nuclides that have caused injuries and death, and must be treated with extreme care. Whether your interest is health physics, historical or collecting, this is the most comprehensive and informative publication on the subject available. Now in its 5th edition, it can be purchase for $36, including Priority shipping in the U.S. Please use PayPal and send payment to syntec@verizon.net. International orders to many countries is $75 USD but please inquire before ordering. WMKolb

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Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
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