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Uranium is the icon of the nuclear age, It's the basis of nuclear power reactors and nuclear bombs (including those made with plutonium, which must be made from uranium in nuclear reactors). Surprisingly, even though there are no stable isotopes, it's also used as a metal for metal-like things. The two main applications being bullets (because it's hard and twice as dense as lead), and radiation shielding. That's right, even though it is itself radioactive, it's so good at blocking other, more dangerous, forms of radiation that shipping containers for radio-pharmaceuticals are routinely made out of uranium.
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 M-735 Tank penetrating munition.
Armor piercing projectiles are generally made of depleted uranium, which is uranium metal from which some of the highly radioactive U-235 has been removed. The material is about 20% less radioactive than naturally occurring uranium.
Depleted Uranium is used for several reasons. First, it's very, very dense, so at a given velocity it carries a lot of energy and hence penetrating force. Second, it's very hard, which of course also helps its penetrating effectiveness. Third, it exhibits planar fracturing, which means as it penetrates it sheers at acute angles, effectively self-sharpening while it passes through whatever it's going through. (Thanks to Michael Z. Williamson for this last bit of information.)
Finally, uranium is pyrophoric, which means it reacts chemically with air on impact causing an explosion inside whatever it's managed to penetrate. This is considered superior to, say, a tungsten round that might just go back out the other side.
There's a lot of controversy about the use of depleted uranium munitions, because people are afraid of the environmental effects on the countries that have been shot up with them. If they stayed intact there really wouldn't be much to worry about. But they don't stay intact, they vaporize on impact, and this turns out to have a huge impact on their potential for harm.
The radiation from uranium is largely of a type that does not penetrate skin much past the outer layer of dead cells, and hence is not particularly harmful if it's outside of you. But if you inhale particles of such an alpha emitter, the radiation gets direct access to sensitive cells in the lungs and can do a great deal of damage. Outside the body, alpha emitters are the least hazardous form of radioactive materials, and hence DU rounds, intact, pose little danger to, for example, the people shooting them. But inside the body, they are the most dangerous.
Besides the radioactivity, uranium is also a toxic heavy metal, sort of like mercury. Would you want someone to dump hundreds of tons of mercury in the countryside around you? Probably not. The net effect of the chemical toxicity and radioactivity are such that powdered uranium in and around a battlefield has the potential to cause serious long term medical problems for anyone who comes in contact with it, on both sides of the conflict.
On the other hand, the number of people killed by uranium poisoning is probably significantly smaller than the number killed by whatever difficulty was causing their country to get shot up in the first place. It might be a more efficient use of ones efforts to worry about that than about the uranium dust that's left over. But like land mines, DU is a real problem that the people who clean up the mess of war have to deal with.
A depleted uranium munition is the ultimate sample for a periodic table collection, because of the great difficulty in getting one. Unfortunately, I don't have one: This sample is only a practice round that contains no actual depleted uranium. Sniff. It weighs about 8 pounds, which might sound like a lot, but if it were real, it would be about to two and a half times heavier. (See below for some real depleted uranium, though not a munition.)
Not only that, I have learned that, while many such munitions are made with depleted uranium, a genuine version of this one actually wouldn't be made of depleted uranium either. Reader Steve Pierson reports as followsI have been researching the M-735: The M735 is an armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding-sabot cartridge
with tracer. Other than the primer and the propellant, this cartridge uses no explosives. It is a high-velocity, flat-trajectory cartridge designed for use against armored targets. The projectile section consists of a sub-projectile, a sabot assembly, and a cartridge case. The sub-projectile is constructed of a nickel-steel body that houses a tungsten core with an aluminum windshield and fin assembly. The sabot assembly consists of three 120-degree aluminum sections assembled to the sub-projectile. The cartridge case contains an electrically initiated primer. The color code for the M735 cartridge is a black body with white markings. Its DODIC is C521
I sent you a picture I was able to find, in the picture you can see the tungsten core. I was surprised that it was not one metal. Well, it's all very interesting, and I'm leaving it here under Uranium because I don't move samples, and I think the discussion of the use of depleted uranium in munitions is important, whether I have one or not.
I've included the sound of a tank explosion with the kind permission of geekswithguns.com. I would have recorded one myself, but all my tanks are in the shop right now. If you should happen to have a real depleted uranium round, please consider donating or selling it to me!
Source: Sovietski Catalog
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 19 July, 2002
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: $70
Size: 18"
Purity: 0%
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Marbles.
Vaseline glass contains small amounts of uranium to give it the yellow color. You can find these kinds of marbles all over eBay from several different sellers. These two register just barely on our Geiger counter. The sound for this sample is from the Geiger counter. The marbles are stored in the Hot Box. See below for another set of marbles with a rotatable image.
Source: Ed Pegg Jr
Contributor: Ed Pegg Jr
Acquired: 24 July, 2002
Price: Donated
Size: 0.5"
Purity: <5%
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  Death on the breakfast table.
Fiestaware was a very popular brand of ceramic tableware. Before the early 1940's the orange color of it was made with uranium in the glaze (uranium was used to get the color, not just accidentally). I think it's a good thing they stopped, because this thing is hot! It registers about 35,000 counts per minute, or almost 10 MREM/hour.
Listen to the sound for this sample and contrast it with the other radioactive samples (uranium marbles, thorium mantle, americium smoke detector). This one has that "let's get out of here now before we fry" ring to it.
To give a sense of how much radiation this is, if you held it in close proximity for 10 hours, you would double your yearly background radiation dose. If you kept it close for 20 days, you would have exceeded the yearly occupational exposure limit for nuclear power plant workers. (The preceding statement is pretty speculative: It's very difficult to determine how much of a dose you'd get, and it would depend very strongly on exactly how you were holding it. For example, holding it at arms length means the core of your body would get almost no exposure, and your hands are relatively insensitive to radiation. To really do some harm, you'd probably have to sit on it for a month or two.)
On the other hand, I wouldn't want to eat out of it.
Coincidentally right after it arrived, I came across an opportunity to scavenge about 3/4 of a ton of lead shielding from an abandoned hospital x-ray room. (I could have had the CAT scan machine too, but it was too big.) So I melted some down and made a 40 pound containment bowl to hold this little orange bowl. Overkill, yes, but then isn't this whole project just one huge case of overkill? You can see the lead bowl under lead.
But after that I made a lead glass display case, which is where the bowl is now.
If you're interested in collecting radioactive things like this, this is a book I strongly recommend. Here is a comment from its author about this dish:The Fiesta dishes may produce a lot of noise on your Geiger counter but they are not dangerous...at least not due to the uranium content. The deep, lustrous glaze, however, comes from lead and that is also a potential hazard. Both the lead and the uranium can leach out in acidic foods but lead is more readily retained in the body. The lead shielding around your Fiesta bowl is actually a greater hazard than the dish itself because of the concentration of lead and the ease with which it comes off when touched. The bountiful clicking of your Geiger counter is due to fairly weak beta emissions and doesn't penetrate the body to any appreciable depth. The glaze and your skin stop all alpha particles. The gamma activity is not significant. Radium bearing materials displayed on your website are far more hazardous and it is those items that should be meticulously sealed.
Source: Charles and Susan Kunze
Contributor: Charles and Susan Kunze
Acquired: 30 July, 2002
Price: Donated
Size: 5"
Purity: <5%
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50 caliber armor piercing shell. Not uranium after all.
I had high hopes for this rifle shell. But they were in vain. Analysis by x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy at the Center for Microanalysis of Materials, University of Illinois (partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under grant DEFG02-91-ER45439) revealed the following composition for the core of the shell (the cladding having been cut away on a lathe):
98.84% Iron
0.54% Molybdenum
0.47% Lead
0.16% Copper
No uranium. Oh well, it's still listed here under uranium because it was here for several months before I did the analysis and I never remove or change sample positions. Keep reading for some real depleted uranium.
Source: eBay seller accurateimage
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 31 July, 2002
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: $10/each
Size: 2.5"
Purity: 0%
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Uranyl Nitrate.
This is one of the more dangerous samples we have. If you eat uranium metal, it will probably go right through you causing minimal harm. But if you eat a soluble uranium salt, it's likely to exhibit a good bit of chemical toxicity, much worse than any radiological danger. This is frankly not something one should have around lightly, though the amount is not enough to cause a real crisis. It's stored in "The Can".
Click the source link for an interesting story about where this sample came from.
Source: Tryggvi Emilsson and Timothy Brumleve
Contributor: Tryggvi Emilsson and Timothy Brumleve
Acquired: 6 September, 2002
Price: Donated
Size: 1"
Purity: 54%
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More Fiestaware.
See above for a description of Fiestaware and why it's here under uranium. Radioactive Fiestaware is quite popular, and plates like this routinely go for $20 or more on eBay. Naturally I'm not willing to pay the going rate for this kind of thing, so I lowballed them for a few months until this one somehow escaped other's notice and went for $6.86.
Source: eBay seller knightlady21
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 5 November, 2002
Price: $6.86
Size: 9"
Purity: <5%
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A Most Amazing Booklet about Revigators.
This book is just incredible. I can't even begin to describe how hilarious it is in places, knowing what we know now about radioactivity. The beautiful thing is, it could have been written today, if you just substitute your favorite current alternative health fad for the substance they are extolling (known in the book as "niton" or "emanation"). All the same arguments, proofs, and fundamental confusions about how the world works are there, right down to the claim that it can't possibly be harmful because it's not a drug or medicine, it's all natural. The "it" being radon gas, which is now known to be one of the most powerfully toxic substances in the world, so toxic that even barely measurable concentrations from natural sources are a problem in many people's houses.
This 20-page booklet is an ad for a product called the "Revigator", which charged your drinking water with radon gas, in case you were missing the benefits of this all-natural substance in your daily life. And it really did emit radon: The product was, unfortunately for its users, not a fraud. It was lined with carnotite (Hydrated Potassium Uranyl Vanadate), a uranium ore which, like any uranium or thorium ore, emits radon gas at a steady rate as a decay product of the uranium.
I've listed the item under radium as well as uranium, because although it's lined with uranium ore, the Revigator is glazed with the words "Radium Ore Revigator". This is largely due to the fact that at the time "Radium" was the popular name that represented any kind of (good) radioactivity. And radium is, in fact, found as a small component in uranium ores, so it's no doubt present in some quantity in this Revigator too.
I have scanned the book and prepared a PDF file for your reading pleasure. There are two versions, a plain one for reading on screen and a double-sided one where the pages seem to be out of order until you print it out double-sided and saddle-staple the result. The second file is ideal if you want to create your own copies of the booklet to hand out to your new-age friends. (This book is technically copyrighted, but so far as I am aware the company that owns the copyright is long defunct, so I really doubt anyone cares.)
If you're interested in radioactive things, here is a book I strongly recommend.
In December of 2002, this booklet was de-accessioned from the table: This is the first time I have ever parted with a sample, and may be the last, as it was something I did only after weeks of agonizing deliberation. The reason for parting with it was that I was offered, by a highly reputable collector who wishes to remain anonymous, nearly a pound of solid machined uranium metal (see below) in exchange for it. Depleted uranium is something that simply isn't available at any price, and after seeking advice and council from learned individuals, I decided that all I really care about is the PDF version of this booklet anyway.
Source: eBay seller daddio
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 8 November, 2002
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: $44
Size: 9"
Purity: 0%
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An actual Revigator.
Revigators sell on a regular basis on eBay. (See above for a description of what a Revigator is.) I've seen them go for almost $500 for one in perfect condition. That's outside my price range, especially for samples that don't even have the element in pure form. But fortunately I found this ragged old one, missing its lid and spigot, for a much more reasonable price.
And it's just as radioactive as the others! Holding the probe outside it registers only about 2-3000 counts per minute, but if you stick the probe down into it, you get almost 100,000 CPM. Of course neither of these measurements is a meaningful reflection of the total body dose you would get from standing near it, let alone drinking water out of it. That's an experiment I may yet do. (I.e. let water stand in it for a couple of days, then pour it out and measure the radioactivity, if any, of the water as a function of time. I am not going to drink that water!)
I've listed the item under radium as well as uranium, because although it's lined with uranium ore, the Revigator is glazed with the words "Radium Ore Revigator". This is largely due to the fact that at the time "Radium" was the popular name that represented any kind of (good) radioactivity. And radium is, in fact, found as a small component in uranium ores, so it's no doubt present in some quantity in this Revigator too.
Here are some fascinating close-ups of the lettering glazed on the outside of this old pot:
If you're interested in collecting radioactive things like this, here is a book I strongly recommend.
Source: eBay seller bettyboop
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 13 November, 2002
Price: $90
Size: 12"
Purity: <5%
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Depleted uranium cylinder.
After several false starts, I now have an indisputably genuine, solid machined cylinder of pure depleted uranium metal. Although vast quantities of this stuff exist (vast as in at least a million tons worldwide), it is incredibly hard to get a hold of. This is because there are no uses for it that are not fairly tightly regulated: Most are military, and the civilian uses are for things like aircraft counterweights or radio pharmaceutical shipping containers. Not the sort of thing that's likely to end up in the local surplus auction.
The "depleted" in "depleted uranium" refers to the fact that the percentage of highly radioactive U-235 in it has been reduced from its naturally occurring concentration, leaving a larger fraction of the less-radioactive U-238 that makes up the vast bulk of natural uranium. But depleted doesn't mean eliminated: In fact the radioactivity of depleted uranium is only about 20% less than that of naturally occurring uranium!
That means this cylinder, though depleted, is still the most radioactive thing I have in my collection. It represent about 140 microCuries of total activity (about 300,000,000 disintegrations per minute). A Geiger counter held up to the side of it will read about 100,000 counts per minute. Fortunately, the radiation from uranium and its decay products is mostly in the form of alpha particles that do not penetrate skin. Holding this cylinder is probably not particularly harmful, though it's not something I do for any longer than necessary to shock people. (There is almost certainly a greater health hazard associated with any uranium oxide that might form on the surface and get onto hands and into lungs from there. For that reason I have put a thick coating of varnish over the cylinder. The main sample photograph was taken before I varnished the cylinder, while the 3D version was made after, and clearly shows the thick, glossy varnish.)
I acquired this cylinder legally, by trading the rare historical Revigator booklet described above to a prolific collector of radioactive stuff. He wishes to remain anonymous, because he does not want to become known as a person with uranium to hand out. To the best of my knowledge there is no source anywhere in the world from which it is possible for an individual to buy solid machined uranium metal in small quantities at any price. (And large quantities require special licenses to handle.) But see above for a lot of different things you can buy that contain some amount of uranium. It's also very easy to buy uranium ore from any number of mineral shops or on eBay.
Source: Anonymous
Contributor: Anonymous
Acquired: 21 December, 2002
Price: Trade
Size: 2"
Purity: 99%
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Depleted uranium aperture bar.
William Kolb is the co-author of a wonderfully interesting book about radioactivity in our lives, which anyone interested in collecting radioactive objects, or just interested in radioactivity in general, should definitely buy without delay. (Click the link to find out how to order it.)
Using his book I have been able to identify and more accurately describe quite a few objects pictured on this website (mostly under uranium and radium). In fact, I found pictures of many of the exact things I'd already collected!
This particular bar I actually saw in the book before I got one, and when I saw the picture I thought, ah, wouldn't it be great to have a bar like that: Too bad there's no chance of that ever happening. I'd already scoured the one abandoned hospital I had access to without finding any misplaced Cobalt-60 sources, any depleted uranium shipping containers, nor any radon needles. All I found was a lousy polonium anti-static brush and a couple of tons of lead (not that I'm complaining or anything, the lead is great.)
Then right after Christmas, what should I find on my desk but a box with this fabulous bar in it! Elements seem to go in bursts: After nearly a year with no pure uranium, I ended up with two large pieces, totaling well over two pounds, in the span of just a couple of days.
To quote from the picture caption in William's book (page 128):A curved bar of depleted uranium from a teletherapy unit. Four such bars formed an aperture that could be opened and closed to illuminate a rectangular area over the part of the body to be exposed. Surface activity on the bar was about 250,000 counts per minute but dropped to 8,000 at 12 inches, or roughly 2 mR/h (Ca 1960s to 1980s) As with any depleted uranium object, the first thing you notice is the weight. Though slightly less dense than pure uranium (about 17g/cc vs. 19g/cc), it's still very surprisingly heavy and wonderful to hold.
As with the cylinder above, the donor wishes to remain anonymous so as not to be known as someone who has this very rare substance available.
Source: Anonymous
Contributor: Anonymous
Acquired: 27 December, 2002
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: Donated
Size: 8"
Purity: >80%
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More uranium glass marbles.
On any given day there are usually quite a few sets of marbles like this on offer on eBay. I waited until I got what seemed like a better-than-usual price for a bag of 25. They are mildly radioactive, and they fluoresce under black light.
Source: eBay seller danniken
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 6 January, 2003
Price: $8
Size: 0.5"
Purity: <5%
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Tube of uranium ore.
This ore is from an old "ATOMIC ENERGY" chemistry set sold by Chemcraft in the 1950's. Radioactivity was popular back then.
I got the chemistry set on eBay after consulting this trusty reference book about radioactive collectables. According to its table of going rates for these things, I got a good deal on the chemistry set, though it is not in perfect condition and is missing some components. Modern chemistry sets are pretty wimpy, but I have to say that, aside from the uranium ore and the radium, this set is pretty tame as well. It even proudly claims to contain "no dangerous or explosive chemicals". I mean really, where's the fun in that? Here's a picture of the set:
Source: eBay seller 6tomcat
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 10 January, 2003
Price: $58/chemistry set
Size: 1"
Purity: <1%
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Radioactive screen.
I'm pretty sure this screen was made by gluing the same ore described in the previous sample onto some cardboard. The manual that came with the chemistry set this was in (see previous sample description) has instructions for how to use the screen to expose photographic film.
Source: eBay seller 6tomcat
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 10 January, 2003
Price: $58/chemistry set
Size: 1"
Purity: <1%
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Sample from the RGB Set.
The Red Green and Blue company in England sells a very nice element collection in several versions. Max Whitby, the director of the company, very kindly donated a complete set to the periodic table table.
To learn more about the set you can visit my page about element collecting for a general description or the company's website which includes many photographs and pricing details. I have two photographs of each sample from the set: One taken by me and one from the company. You can see photographs of all the samples displayed in a periodic table format: my pictures or their pictures. Or you can see both side-by-side with bigger pictures in numerical order.
The picture on the left was taken by me. Here is the company's version (there is some variation between sets, so the pictures sometimes show different variations of the samples):
Source: Max Whitby of RGB
Contributor: Max Whitby of RGB
Acquired: 25 January, 2003
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 0.2"
Purity: 99.9%
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Sample from the Everest Set.
Up until the early 1990's a company in Russia sold a periodic table collection with element samples. At some point their American distributor sold off the remaining stock to a man who is now selling them on eBay. The samples (except gases) weigh about 0.25 grams each, and the whole set comes in a very nice wooden box with a printed periodic table in the lid.
Radioactive elements like this one are represented in this particular set by a non-radioactive dummy powder, which doesn't look anything like the real element.
To learn more about the set you can visit my page about element collecting for a general description and information about how to buy one, or you can see photographs of all the samples from the set displayed on my website in a periodic table layout or with bigger pictures in numerical order.
Source: Rob Accurso
Contributor: Rob Accurso
Acquired: 7 February, 2003
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: Donated
Size: 0.2"
Purity: 0%
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Uranotype photograph.
Blake Ferris of New York has been experimenting with exotic, radioactive chemistries for photography. No, I don't know why, but you can see (and buy) the results on his website and on eBay. It turns out silver isn't the only metal whose salts can made light-sensitive: Uranium works too. This is a photograph of the Nagasaki nuclear bomb explosion rendered in uranyl ferricyanide. It's mildly radioactive, but we can be thankful he modeled his photochemistry after the uranium tamper rather than the plutonium pit of the bomb: That would have been one hot photo!
Here is how Blake explains the process:In the 19th century, when silver-based photography was just one approach among many others, UV-sensitive uranium salts were a familiar part of the early photographer's formulary. Commercial uranium printing paper was manufactured until 1899, and mixtures containing uranyl nitrate were commonly used to tone and intensify silver prints well into the 20th century. In earlier times, the uranyl compounds were made from undepleted uranium, and had non-negligible gamma emissions. Today, uranium photography is virtually nonexistent, but Kodak still makes a uranium toner, and uranyl acetate is regularly used in electron microscopy.
Many printing processes using uranium, together with other metal salts, were referred to as "uranotypes", but the picture here (the Nagasaki explosion, negative from the U.S. National Archives) is a true uranotype, insofar as the image is formed after development by the orange pigment uranyl ferricyanide (in most other uranium processes, the uranium would form an oxide and wash out after reducing another metal salt). The process gives a low-contrast image resembling a "red chalk" drawing, and results in a print that registers about 200 cpm above background after washing and drying. Blake can print your own large-format negative using this or other uranium-based processes, and also makes prints from historical negatives like this one: You can contact him by email at bferris@nyc.rr.com.
Source: Blake Ferris
Contributor: Blake Ferris
Acquired: 25 October, 2003
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 4"
Purity: 1%
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Fuel pellet.
This is said to be a fuel pellet intended to be used in a "SLOWPOKE" style research reactor, which would mean it contains enriched uranium. I'm unclear on the legality of owning enriched uranium: If it's illegal, I'm sure this doesn't contain any, OK? I got this pellet by trading some custom-formed lead shielding blocks to a guy who was building a Farnsworth Fusor (a kind of tabletop fusion machine that actually works). Ah, such hobbies we have.
Source: Anonymous
Contributor: Anonymous
Acquired: 10 August, 2004
Text Updated: 8 December, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 0.5"
Purity: 50%
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Uranium ore powder pencil.
I doubt this would make it past the consumer product safety laws these days, considering the likelihood of nuclear contamination of your paperwork should it accidentally break open. From a safety point of view, my molybdenum powder pen is a better bet, but I'm sure this one results in much more powerful writing. Or at least in faster writing as you wonder just how long you should be exposing yourself to a radioactive pencil.
Source: Blake Ferris
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 29 October, 2004
Price: $45
Size: 7"
Purity: <10%
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Depleted uranium for sale.
This is a remarkable and long-awaited object: A sample of real depleted uranium metal that you can actually buy for a reasonable price from a respectable supplier. United Nuclear has long been one of my favorite sources of useful things: For example they supplied the magnesium powder for my Popular Science article about old-time flash photography.
They have recently acquired a supply of depleted uranium metal, which they are offering in chunks for a pretty good price, considering that you basically can't buy it anywhere else (that I know of) in small quantities. It's perfectly legal to own (provided you don't go over the 15 pound limit for individual ownership of "un-enriched source material" for educational, scientific, or industrial use), but there just aren't many companies interested in the hassle of processing and selling small amounts. United Nuclear should be commended for the service they are providing to the element collecting hobby! (Plus they should be commended for sending me a free sample.)
I chose this sample to represent its element in my Photographic Periodic Table Poster. The sample photograph includes text exactly as it appears in the poster, which you are encouraged to buy a copy of.
Source: United Nuclear
Contributor: United Nuclear
Acquired: 11 April, 2005
Text Updated: 19 May, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 0.75"
Purity: 99.9%
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Depleted Uranium Projectile.
Within a few months of my starting to seriously collect elements nearly five years ago, it became clear that uranium was going to be a frustrating one. Though radioactive, uranium exists in vast quantities in stockpiles held by governments and industry, has various commercial applications, and is legal to own, at least in limited quantities. But just try to get some.
I was eventually able to acquire several very nice samples, but the one thing that continued to elude me year after year was a sample of what is no doubt the most common application by far of uranium: A depleted uranium projectile.
But no more! I was finally able to arrange a trade: 15 grams of thorium plus an undisclosed sum of money for one small, but indisputably genuine depleted uranium bullet. It's about 1/4" diameter, and is said to be an alloy containing 0.75% titanium to harden the material. The gold color comes from a plating of titanium nitride used to protect the surface from oxidation. This coating makes the object considerably safer to handle since there is no danger of uranium or uranium oxide rubbing off, as there is when handling bare uranium metal.
Natural uranium consists of a mixture of mostly U-238 (half life 4.5 billion years) and 0.72% of U-235 (half-life 700 million years, therefore considerably more radioactive than U-238). Depleted uranium is made by removing a fraction, usually less than half, of the U-235. This reduces the level of radioactivity of the material somewhat, and makes it totally unsuitable for any sort of bomb making. But it's still quite radioactive, emitting mainly alpha particles, plus small amounts of beta and gamma.
This little bullet reads tens of thousands of counts per minute using my mica-window Geiger counter, which is able to read alpha, beta, and gamma. (Most common meters read only beta and gamma.) You might think this makes the object rather dangerous, but the reason most meters don't read alpha emissions is that they are unable to penetrate anything, not even the outermost layer of dead cells on your skin. So as a solid, intact object, even quite large amounts of uranium are not particularly dangerous to be next to.
But break it up into a fine powder, for example by shooting it at something, and depleted uranium becomes very dangerous. Lodged in the lungs a spec of uranium can last for years, irradiating very sensitive living lung tissue the whole time.
This bullet was apparently an experimental design, and it's rather plain in comparison to some of the exotically shaped projectiles used in anti-tank munitions. Which is to say that, while I am absolutely ecstatic to finally be able to remove "depleted uranium projectile" from my most-wanted list, I am now forced to add "better depleted uranium projectile" to it.
Source: Anonymous
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 18 March, 2007
Text Updated: 19 March, 2007
Price: Undisclosed
Size: 1.25"
Purity: 99%
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Radiation dose monitor.
This isn't exactly a spinthariscope, but the principle is similar so I'm listing it in the spinthariscope category. (Spinthariscopes are explained in more detail here.)
This is actually a dose rate monitor that works as follows. At one end is an eye piece with a lens that focuses on a split screen inside the device. Half of the screen is illuminated by a small light bulb, with the brightness controlled by a dial on the back end. The other half is a phosphorescent screen that glows when exposed to radioactivity. To measure the current radiation level you look into the eye piece and adjust the dial until the two halves of the screen appear to have the same brightness. Then you can read the radiation level off the markings around the dial on the back.
Or you could just run like hell if you see any glow at all. The dose rates necessary to register visibly on the phosphorescent screen are high enough that you really wouldn't want to hang around in an area where this monitor would register a visible dose.
Source: eBay seller geoelectronics
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 19 May, 2007
Text Updated: 19 May, 2007
Price: $20
Size: 5"
Purity: 0%
Sample Group: Spinthariscopes
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Modern Spinthariscope.
This is a really nice modern spinthariscope made by United Nuclear, my favorite supplier for all things radioactive and chemical. It uses a small amount of uranium ore, a highly efficient luminous screen, and a quality lens to provide a better view than any of the antique spinthariscopes I've tried.
Spinthariscopes are not just historical curiosities, you can order one like this today.
Spinthariscopes are explained in more detail here.
Source: United Nuclear
Contributor: United Nuclear
Acquired: 19 May, 2007
Text Updated: 19 May, 2007
Price: $30
Size: 2.5"
Purity: <1%
Sample Group: Spinthariscopes
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Geigerscope/Spinthariscope.
This "Geigerscope" is what other people would refer to as an alphascope, similar to a spinthariscope without its own radioactive source. (Spinthariscopes are explained in more detail here.)
It has a lens at one end and a luminous screen at the other (underneath the small cap you see in the photograph). The idea is to point the screen at a radioactive object and look through the lens to see the flashes of light generated on the luminous screen. Based on the number of flashes you can estimate the activity level of the source. A scope like this is far simpler and cheaper than a Geiger counter (just a few dollars vs. Hundreds) and it requires no batteries. It basically can't fail unless you run over it with a truck. On the other hand, it works only in a dark room with dark adapted eyes, and it provides only a rough indication of activity level.
Source: eBay seller geoelectronics
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 19 May, 2007
Text Updated: 19 May, 2007
Price: $20
Size: 3"
Purity: 0%
Sample Group: Spinthariscopes
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Gilbert Atomic Energy Spinthariscope.
This cheaply-made (but probably quite functional) cardboard tube spinthariscope was part of a Gilbert chemistry set in the 1950's or 60's. I don't have the rest of the set, just the spinthariscope, and I'm just guessing that it contained uranium as apposed to polonium, thorium, or radium. Polonium was used in the Lone Ranger spinthariscope ring from about the same era, but this one is still radioactive while polonium would be fully decayed by now. Radium would have been too expensive, and other Gilbert sets contained uranium ore radioactive sources, so all in all, I think uranium is a fair guess.
Spinthariscopes are explained in more detail here.
Source: eBay seller imissthe60s
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 19 May, 2007
Text Updated: 19 May, 2007
Price: $48
Size: 3"
Purity: <1%
Sample Group: Spinthariscopes
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Lost marbles (uranium variety).
This lovely, lovely uranium glass marble and another like it were lost when they were confiscated from a student who brought them to school, not realizing that schools tend to freak out about radioactive things. Uranium glass contains a very small amount of radioactive uranium, so they are, technically, radioactive, and the student, who wishes to remain anonymous, made the further mistake of taking with him the certificate provided by the original source (my favorite mad scientist supplier, United Nuclear) certifying that they definitely are genuinely radioactive marbles. If they weren't radioactive, they would be a rip-off. But really, it's a very small amount, fused into the glass, and of the least harmful variety (alpha particles). The school could really have found something else to worry about, in my opinion.
They were turned in to me by a concerned parent, who felt I might provide them with a good home, which I am only too happy to do, as I didn't realize that uranium marbles came in such a large and lovely variety. All my other marbles (none of which I have lost, I should add) are much smaller.
Source: Anonymous
Contributor: Anonymous
Acquired: 11 August, 2007
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 1"
Purity: <5%
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Depleted Uranium Projectile.
When I got my first real depleted uranium projectile I was very excited. But frankly, it was a bit small, a bit thin. I felt inadequate. Very little spam arrives in your in box offering products designed to increase the size of your bullet, so I knew that some day I would have to get another one.
And here it is, my second genuine depleted uranium bullet. This one is several times heavier, about 1/2" in diameter, and with a much more interesting shape. (Though not nearly as interesting as some of the very large tank penetrators I lust after.) This one came from the same anonymous source, who was persuaded to part with it in exchange for most of a 1.7 kilogram slab of depleted uranium I have had for a while, but never listed on my site because I felt sure it was likely to be more valuable as a trading item than as a sample. And that it was. (For those who don't study the legalities of uranium ownership, you're allowed to have up to 15 pounds for educational or industrial use without a license, as long as it's not enriched.)
Source: Anonymous
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 2 December, 2007
Text Updated: 17 December, 2007
Price: Trade
Size: 1.5"
Purity: 99%
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Depleted Uranium Counterweight.
This is the last of the truly iconic uranium samples I have been looking for: A genuine depleted uranium aircraft control surface counterweight. They make them out of uranium because it's very dense (so they can be small yet heavy) and because it's cheap (if you're a government that creates countless tons of useless depleted uranium as a side effect of making enriched uranium for bombs and nuclear reactors).
This thing is very small, yet weighs eleven pounds! Quite amazing, and of course also quite radioactive, though in a relatively mild way (mostly alpha). It was given to me by a person who wishes to remain anonymous, but who has my eternal gratitude. There's nothing illegal about owning such an object if you have a legitimate educational purpose (that's what the law says), but it's just not the kind of thing that you find floating around every day.
Source: Anonymous
Contributor: Anonymous
Acquired: 30 September, 2008
Text Updated: 1 October, 2008
Price: Donated
Size: 4"
Purity: 99%
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Autunite.
I bought some Fiestaware plates from Jim to use in museum displays I'm helping coordinate, and he threw in this little sample of Autunite, a uranium mineral. He probably has Fiestaware available if you need some.
Source: Jim Markitell
Contributor: Jim Markitell
Acquired: 30 May, 2003
Price: Donated
Size: 1.5"
Composition: Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2.10H2O
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Autunite.
Autunite, if it is not kept in a humid environment, tends to degrade due to loss of water from the crystal matrix (see formula below, which indicates there are 10 molecules of water associated with each atom of uranium). This sample flaked apart as I was trying to mount it for photography, dropping little leaves of radioactivity everywhere. Still, quite pretty.
Source: eBay seller dr**zarkoff
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 10 June, 2005
Price: $15
Size: 0.5"
Composition: Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2.10H2O
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Thorite.
This is a very rare thorium mineral. Not much to look at, but it has a well-defined crystal structure and it's hot enough that when it fell under a bunch of stuff, I had no trouble locating it with a Geiger counter. (This is one of the great advantages of radioactive things: You can never really loose them. Not so the osmium pellet I'm probably never going to find.)
The price reflects the rarity of this species.
Source: eBay seller mineralman999
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 3 June, 2005
Price: $90
Size: 0.5"
Composition: (Th,U)SiO
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Torbernite.
Torbernite is a lovely, lovely green color (I would guess from the copper). It's also quite radioactive, from the uranium content, and even more so from the mixture of uranium decay products that have built up in it over millions of years.
Source: eBay seller migalf1
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 3 June, 2005
Price: $27
Size: 1.5"
Composition: Cu(UO2)2(PO4)2.8-12H2O
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Carnotite.
The yellow crust is the carnotite, an ore of uranium that also contains some traces of radium, which is used to justify the name "Radium Ore Revigator" used to describe the water jug you'll find listed under uranium (and which is lined with carnotite).
Source: eBay seller dr**zarkoff
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 3 June, 2005
Price: $15
Size: 1.5"
Composition: K2(UO2)2(VO4)2.3H2O
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Autunite.
This autunite was donated by the mine owner who dug it up: It's a lovely specimen, photographed here under ultraviolet light. You can get samples of this an other radioactive minerals direct from the mine.
Source: eBay seller boomologist
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 25 June, 2005
Price: Donated
Size: 1.5"
Composition: Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2.10H2O
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Autunite.
This autunite was donated by the mine owner who dug it up: It's a lovely specimen, photographed here under ultraviolet light. The main picture for this sample actually shows the back side of the sample, which has some very nice large crystals. The front side is completely covered with more autunite crystals: Click the turntable icon on the right to get an image you can rotate around and see from all sides.
You can get samples of this an other radioactive minerals direct from the mine.
Source: eBay seller boomologist
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 25 June, 2005
Price: Donated
Size: 1.5"
Composition: Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2.10H2O
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Thorite.
This is a lovely shiny crystal of thorite, a rare radioactive mineral, from Mt. Zagi, Pakistan. The price reflects the rarity of this species more so than its beauty, though this one is really quite attractive.
Source: eBay seller 4jdk
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 25 September, 2005
Price: $76
Size: 0.5"
Composition: (Th,U)SiO
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Confiscated Davidite.
This mildly radioactive Davidite ore was confiscated from a student who brought it to school, not realizing that schools tend to freak out about radioactive things, whether they are truly dangerous or not. The original source is United Nuclear and it's perfectly legal.
Source: Anonymous
Contributor: Anonymous
Acquired: 8 May, 2007
Text Updated: 9 May, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 1"
Composition: (La,Ce,Ca)(Y,U)(Ti,Fe)20O38
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More confiscated Davidite.
This mildly radioactive Davidite ore was confiscated from a student who brought it to school, not realizing that schools tend to freak out about radioactive things, whether they are truly dangerous or not. The original source is United Nuclear and it's perfectly legal.
Source: Anonymous
Contributor: Anonymous
Acquired: 8 May, 2007
Text Updated: 9 May, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 1"
Composition: (La,Ce,Ca)(Y,U)(Ti,Fe)20O38
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Euxenite.
Description from the source:
Euxenite ( (Y Ca Ce U Th) (Nb Ta Ti)2 O6 orth.), Trout Creek Pass, Chafee Co. Colorado, USA. Crystal cluster, nice and rare example. 2x1,5x1 cm; 14 g with box.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 30 September, 2008
Text Updated: 1 October, 2008
Price: Trade
Size: 0.75"
Composition: (YCaCeUTh)(NbTaTi)2O6
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Euxenite from Jensan Set.
This sample represents lutetium in the "The Grand Tour of the Periodic Table" mineral collection from Jensan Scientifics. Visit my page about element collecting for a general description, or see photographs of all the samples from the set in a periodic table layout or with bigger pictures in numerical order.
Source: Jensan Scientifics
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 10 January, 2009
Text Updated: 10 January, 2009
Price: Anonymous
Size: 0.6"
Composition: (Y,Ca,Ce,Lu,U,Th)(Nb,Ta,Ti)2O6
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Metatorbernite.
Description from the source:
Metatorbernite ( Cu+2 (UO2)2 (PO4)2x8H2O tet.), Monte Painter, Australia. Green laminar crystals on limonitic, rich in oxides matrix. 6,5x5x3 cm; 87 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 11 March, 2009
Text Updated: 12 March, 2009
Price: Trade
Size: 2.5"
Composition: Cu(UO2)2(PO4)2.8H2O
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Radioactive tiles at a grade school. (External Sample)
These are pretty art-deco style decorative tiles behind the drinking fountains at my children's 1920's era grade scrool. They read about 4000 counts per minute on my alpha-beta-gamm Geiger counter due to the use or uranium in the glaze (similarly to the way uranium was used in Fiestaware dishes for decades).
Location: Leal School
Photographed: 15 April, 2009
Text Updated: 16 April, 2009
Size: 96"
Purity: <10%
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